752/What Sarah Said...

What Sarah Said...
Date of Scene:	02 June 2017
Location:	GC Hospital
Synopsis:	Karrin and Harry FINALLY take the next step, but it takes near death to make it happen.
Cast of Characters:	Karrin Murphy, Harry Dresden

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Karrin Murphy has posed:
While Harry may have actually *gotten* to the hospital hours ago, he wasn't family. He wasn't a partner. On any sort of paper? He was no one in Karrin's life. He probaly wouldn't have even known if it wasn't for Rawlings. Good old, dear Rawlings, who has turned his back to the illegal things Harry and Karrin have done more than once. Rawlings heard and made a single phone call, confirming that the nameless GCPD cop who was shot was, indeed, Karrin Murphy. The phone calls people hate to get when loving a cop. However, he couches it with reassurances that they *think* she'll be alright, but she's in surgery. That was late last night.

It's now mid day. Karrin made it out of surgery and several hours in the step down unit before she was stable enough to be transferred to a regular room. That's when they let him in, especially since it was visiting hours. She hasn't woken up yet, but she's breathing on her own, a fit body coming recovering FAR better than someone not nearly so well trained as she was. Even after being shot and collapsing a lung. She still looks like paper, oxygen across her nose, monitors stuck to every surface of her. At least in the normal rooms, the tech is old -- Gotham certainly doesn't have the most well stocked hospital.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry has a thing about hospitals. All the electronics and life saving gizmos make the wizard very, very nervous to be around. He does not want to accidentally kill someone with his Butters patented 'Murphyonic Field'. But, on the other hand, Karrin has been shot, and it wasn't just a flesh wound either.

So, what is a wizard to do?

A wizard casts a spell, that's what. He's done it once before, when he appeared on Jack Ryder, casting a spell that is supposed to suppress that field around him that makes things short out. It didn't work so well then, but dire times require dire solutions, and damned if he wasn't going to be there for his friend.

Harry sits next to the bed in a chair, eyes closed and slowly drawing breath in and out in a somewhat hypnotic rhythm, doing his best to keep as calm and sedate as possible. He has his hand laid over one of Karrin's, a gentle squeeze giving her the gentle pressure of reassurance that someone is there for her.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Karrin is cool to the touch -- not death cold, but cool. Definitely not her normal, warm and ready self. Just as she's been since she was wheeled into this room, since he got here a few hours ago. The single blessing in all of this is that it seems whatever was haunting their dreams hasn't bothered right now. Or she's too drugged to react, who really knows. But her sleep seems peaceful and that's a rarity for them nowadays.

Finally, after what probably feels like far too long, she shifts slightly on the bed. Her head instinctively turns towards him, part of her feeling that larger palm across her small hand, part of her just aware of when another presence is near. Call it cop senses. She's not quite awake yet, clawing out of drugs and recovery exhaustion, but her mind is trying. Ashen gray lips give a little, unhappy sound. "...jus'...take the keys... get out... get... Safe." She insists in her lingering half sleep, mind still running in the panic of the scene she left. Still trying to get someone out of danger, even when she was possibly dying.

Harry Dresden has posed:
The shift and sound of her voice pull Dresden out of his trance-like state. His eyes open, bloodshot and red like he hasn't actually slept or from crying...or both. He turns to look at Karrin, his hand squeezing hers with just a bit more pressure, a fortification of lended strength.

"Shh...Karrin." he says gently, trying to remain calm least things 'go wrong'. He doesn't know the whole story, but never the less he says in hushed tones, "Everyone is safe. Everyone got out. Just rest." A lie? The truth? The wizard doesn't know himself, but he figures it is what she needs to hear.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
That was not the voice she expected to hear. At least, not immediately. It's also a voice that manages to cut straight through the drugs, through the exhaustion and pain to a place she actually listens to him. There are nights she wants him to do nothing but shut up, but this isn't one of those times. Karrin falls quiet again, fingertips slightly twitching, half returning the squeeze of his hand. She trusted that voice. Trusted those words. The momentary spike on the monitors levels out, the panic of half waking up, not totally aware, it fades the moment she hears his tone.

"...Harry?" She finally cracks out, forcing eyes half open to look up to him. She does look half confused, still waking up after surgery, even if it's been hours. Drugs are a hell of, well... A drug. But she's looking for his face now, trying to confirm he's actually here. "...how...did...?" Then, as her mind wakes up a bit more, she realizes she has no clue WHY he's here.

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Shh.." says Harry, "Don't try to talk." It's probably not going to work, but it's worth a shot.

"I'm here. You're going to be fine. Just rest."

He speaks low and slow to her. Quietly focusing on those words to give them bit of power to help them cut through the haze of the drugs. The cadence of them slow and methodical, relaxing...probably just as much for him as for her.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"...since when do you get to tell me... not to talk..." Karrin's voice, rasping from the tubes earlier, cracks out quietly. She might sound like hell and look even worse, but she's still Karrin Murphy and damned if she's going to take orders from Harry Dresden. A faint smile cracks across her lips a sluggish heartbeat later and she forces her eyes the rest of the way open to actually LOOK at him, fighting the drugs the whole way. But then, she's always been a fighter.

It takes a moment, but she does manage to focus, studying his bloodshot eyes and wan expression. Her smile stays, though it casts a touch more sad, something aching in her which isn't stitches or surgical recovery. "...you look like shit."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Since you're the one in the hospital." He arches a brow at her and gives her a stern little look.

He smirks when she continues to speak, a small grin forming on his lips. "Pot. Kettle. But at least I don't have any new holes in me. Now shush, i'm trying to concentrate here. You're not making it easy." He pauses with a shake of his head, knowing that she is just going to ignore him anyway and reaches for the glass of ice chips, "Or at least let me get you some ice to suck on. You sound like my aunt mildred, who smoked 50 packs a day and gargled glass."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
That familiar, stern look and the following grin are enough to let Karrin know he's not going to break or fall apart seeing her like this, so her eyes flutter shut a second after seeing them, just holding onto that familiar expression without fighting the cobwebs QUITE so hard any more. But she's not asleep. She's just half resting, listening to the cadence of his voice as he goes on about kettles, mildred and a whole bunch of things that don't really matter but feel so much better. A faint laugh escapes her throat, "...sounds like Mildred had a better life plan, health wise, than I do... maybe I should take some advice from her." No, she's definitely not listening to him.

She will take the ice chips, though. Karrin tries to move her other hand to grab for the glass, really not wanting to be feeble enough that he has to FEED her ice. That'd just be embarrassing. But the other hand is the one weighted down with a taped IV, pulse ox monitor, and something else she doesn't even know what it is. "shit... I feel like a robot..." She mutters, giving a drowsy glare down to her hand. Seems he's going to either feed her ice or free up her other palm. She tries to accept the ice without feeling totally embarrassed. Even the drugs can't hide the momentary awkwardness over it, though. Karrin Murphy is NOT good at taking help. "...sorry..." She mutters, once she's got a few chips down. She sounds a bit less like sandpaper.

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Is it the kind of sexy android type robot from something like Tripping the Rift, or the awkward flailing arms 'Danger Will Robinson' type from Lost in Space?" asks Harry quietly, his voice never raising more than above a whisper just audible over the beep...beep...beep of the machines. "Because if it is the former....hot. I may not be able to control myself."

He feeds her the ice chips slowly, shaking his head. "Mildred's life plan was the lottery retirement insurance option. There is a reason she isn't around anymore, so I wouldn't take advice from her. In fact the only thing Mildred had going for her was her charming wit, and since I was already gifted with that, you're just shit out of luck."

The sorry draws another little smile as he looks down at her, "For what? Getting shot? Scaring the shit out of me? Causing me enough grief and anxiety that I would never get to talk to you again that I actually have been sitting in a hospital all night, trying my best to not short out your, or anyone else, lifesaving medical equipment? You should be. You owe me one, Murphy."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"...I wouldn't... put money on that charming wit thing, Dresden..." Karrin rasps again, after she's got an ice cube or two down. She shakes her head at any more. That was enough. Her body was still getting used to this breathing, talking and being awake thing. Adding ice to it was a bit much. But still, the cracking jokes comes. It's easier than admitting just how scared she was. That he was one of the last things on her mind. That everything still hurts and she's scared she might not go back to work. Might not be herself ever again. She's awake enough those thoughts are running through her mind, monitors showing the weirdly sluggish panic in turn, even if she's not voicing it.

Her hand just, somewhat too suddenly, squeezes his palm. Hard. Well, hard as she can. She tries to sound teasing, but her tone is a bit more crackling than she'd like, as she finally responds, "...Y-yeah. All those things. ANd... maybe a few more. 'least they... told you. I told them to call. The woman... I wanted you to know." When I thought I was going to die. Though, that part is unspoken, even if it's implied.

Harry Dresden has posed:
The clench of her hand and the fluctuation of the monitors cause Harry to look up at them with a frown. "Hey, take it easy, Murph. It's ok. Just try and relax. You can make it up to me when you get out of here. You can buy me a beer at Mac's and we will call it even." He looks back to her from the monitor, adding "And if you need me to call a nurse, just nod your head. I promise I won't stick around when you need a new bedpan."

He cocks his head slightly, "Woman? Rawlings gave me the heads up that you were brought in here. I don't think he would take to kindly to being called a woman.", Harry says with a chuckle.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"No. No nurse." Karrin states that flatly, with the stubborn tone that says part of her has a mind to try and walk right out of here, she doesn't need a scrap of help, dammit. But she knows it's not true. Her pride is just fighting it all. She takes a moment to breathe in as deep as that damn thing across her nose will allow, to try and calm the bits of panic that cut through her as more awareness comes to be. She keeps his hand tightly though. No nurse. She wanted him here.

The commentary about Rawlings makes her blink, though, some practical confusion helping cut through the more overarching worries of everything. "Oh. I... well... I tried..." Her words die away as she realizes she'd have to tell him that he was the one thing she asked for when she went down. That would be complicated. She clears her throat faintly instead. "Well. Never mind. I'm...glad someone called you. But I'm fine. Rawlings shouldn't have worried you..."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden frowns a bit, and one of the monitors lets out a little squeal of sound that is not one of the normal blips, beeps or boops. Harry closes his eyes and focuses on calming himself down for a moment, taking a few deep breaths before opening his eyes again to look down at Karrin.

"Alright, no nurse. But if I end up having to wipe your ass, Murph, you are so going to owe me." He manages a small grin, the constant pressure of his reassuring grip on her hand never fading.

His eyes narrow ever so slightly as he looks at her, "You tried what, Karrin? What woman? Is she who did this to you?" Another squeal from a machine and a faint smell of ozone drifts through the air as something minor gives up a puff of smoke. "I am glad he did. I owe him one for that. Had I found out after the fact, you would have had one very, very unhappy wizard on your hands."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The unhappy squeals and sounds from the machines, even if they are minor, get her eyes to reopen. She gives a sideways look at the things before tossing some shade up in his direction. But it's amused shade. Touched shade. Skepticism mixed with the fact she knows he's only flipping out because he cares. "Careful there, magic man. We might not get an option about a nurse bein' in here if you keep that up." Another faint squeeze comes from her cool palm. "I'm fine. I'm alive. This'll be a few days and I'll be fine. So... just breathe." She reassures him quietly, equally NOT wanting to be disturbed right now.

"And no, no... she didn't do it. She's... pretty good people. That latina nurse, from across the river, who patches people up for free. Few of my guys who can't go to a hospital have seen her before. She got herself into some trouble. Triad, probably... some asian gang. Didn't get to see them close enough. They did this. Wasn't her. They... they're dead now. It was... messy. But I'm *fine* and it's over."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden closes his eyes and take a minute to settle himself down and recenter. The dampening spell he laid over himself working, but he can tell it won't last forever. "I'm fine, Murphy. I've got it under control." For now, anyway.

"I've never heard of her. Sounds like someone I should get to know, just in case Butters isn't around for something. What did you try? Helping her out? Seems to me you did your part." he says as he looks over her hospitalized body. "And Karrin, stop saying your fine. You can't stubborn this away, hell if we could do that I wouldn't ever need Butters."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The commentary about not stubborning this away drives her quiet for a long moment, just the faint sound of those monitors and their mingled breath filling the room. It all seems so loud, a constant reminder of life, but life that ever so carefully dances on the edge. Life that almost wasn't. She shifts her arm, it's her good arm, the one whose shoulder wasn't shot full of a hole, enough that she can half pull his hand up. He'll have to help a but, but she pulls the back of his palm against her lips and gives it the smallest, cool mouthed kiss. A reassurance when she can't really give a verbal one. Not one he'll listen to, at least. She doesn't put his hand down again, but just tucks it against her cheek. He was so warm.

"...I tried to... tell her to call you. I remember that. I think I gave her your name... I tried to." Karrin finally admits. Pretending this didn't happen just really isn't going to work any more. "And...I have to be fine, Harry. I have to. I... can't handle being benched. Being off the force. That's who I am. That's... everything."

Harry Dresden has posed:
The kiss causes his lips to pull into a faint line of a smile, and he make no effort to pull his hand away from her cheek, letting his fingers lightly stoke the skin of it with gentle caresses.

"Oh." he says softly, "Well, she didn't. Maybe she didn't hear you, or didn't get my full name or something. Or maybe she was too busy trying to keep you alive." He smiles, "I may have to give her a coupon for free wizarding."

"You will be fine, Karrin. You just need time to heal. You are going to have to be benched while you heal, and I know you won't like it, but Hell's bells Karrin, you almost died. I think your body deserves a bit of a rest before you get back out there." He pauses a moment, "And that isn't who you are, it is your job. It's not what make you, you. If you weren't a cop, you could be private security, or FBI or CIA or hell for all I know you could jump on the caped crusader bandwagon and deal out justice with what's his face...but being a cop, specifically? That is just your job. What makes you who you are is in here." He reaches over his other hand and touches her chest without being inappropriate. "And in here..." he lifts his hand and touches her head. "I know, because you would still be the same woman I..." he stops himself, pausing a half-second to correct something, "...care about even if you were no longer a cop. So the job isn't who defines you, Murph."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
If there was any doubt about how much his touch meant to her, what is still working on the monitors reflects it almost immediately as his fingertips caress her cheek. Ticking down just a few beats a minute, all of her calming out. That touch felt like home. It was centering. Her head tilts slightly into it and she just lets it keep her calm even as the words speak to far worse demons in her head. Even as he talks them down. She takes in a deep breath through her nose, trying to keep calm, to focus on his fingertips there.

"...I love you too." She finally whispers. She might be drugged -- hell, she probably said it BECAUSE she's drugged -- but it doesn't make it any less true. And she heard it behind his words, even as they've danced around that dangerous word before.

Harry Dresden has posed:
He knew. They both knew how they felt about each other. All the arguments and fights, the constant dancing around the topic, it all pointed to it...but it was something he wasn't actually prepared to hear from her lips. Those 4 words slam home and his eyes instantly start to glisten. He leans over her, the hand under her shin turning to cup her cheek as he lowers his lips to hers in a soft and gentle kiss that is restrained but promises so much more.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
This was NOT how Karrin Murphy pictured their first real, not running, not fighting kiss. But then, nothing in their lives are how she'd plan it. But she doesn't fight. A few good drugs and a good taste of mortality is just enough to mostly quiet those screaming demons in her head. Something else just tells her to enjoy it now. To take the damn risk. Just how truly short life is. So, as much as she can, she leans up into that kiss. Eagerly, gently, her nose brushing against his as her eyes shut against some mutual stinging. She couldn't even articulate why there were tears, but she felt it. She tries to kiss them away, kiss through them. Kiss for all the good things they have had, and will have. Even if he's her best friend -- probably because he is.

Harry Dresden has posed:
After a moment longer, he pulls back from the kiss slowly and reluctantly, but doesn't move his face very far from hers, the tip of his nose resting on the tip of hers. "I love you, Karrin Murphy." He has never actually said it out-loud like that, and the words bring a grin to his face. "And when you get out of here...we are going to sit down on a couch for the longest make out session ever."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
That firm confession brings her eyes back open, even if they are glassy with tears and a whole array of confusing emotions. She wants to look up at him. Wants to remember this moment in spite of the drugs. She parts her lips to say something but then he's speaking again and they AREN'T the most romantic words in the world, but they certainly make her laugh. "...ouch...dammit... fuck you...laughing hurts. You are the worst influence..." Karrin breathes out, still slightly chuckling against the pain. But he's got her to smile and cry at the same time, so that is probably a success.

It takes a moment or two, but she does manage to catch her breath. She's still holding his hand. That's not letting go until she passes out again. "... we... can do this, right? We're not going to fuck it up horribly?"

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden grins again, giving her another soft kiss on the lips before retaking his seat next to her. His hand remains on her cheek, this thumb brushing the moisture of any falling tears away. "I am, it's true. I'll try to keep the laughter to a minimum, so that certainly rules out sex..."

He gives her a wink, "Ok...ok, i'll stop. No more jokes."

"I'm no fortune teller, I don't have the gift of precognition, and I am not about to dive into the black for any rituals involving things better off unmentioned...so I can't tell you that. What I can say is that I've battled vampires, werewolves, evil sorcerers and fairie queens...and I will fight for us harder than I have ever fought them."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Well, she was JUST about to stop crying until he said that. Karrin blinks, staring at the ceiling for a moment, not his face, as she tries to pull herself together but it's really hard on this many drugs, in distant pain, and hearing words she's only really dreamed about. Words she's not certain she deserves. She gives him a crackling little laugh, turning her head enough to press a kiss into the base of his palm. "...Dammit, Harry. I... How did you get so... I just..." Karrin Murphy really doesn't have words. For once, he's left her stunned and speechless, her heart in her throat. She just leans into his hand instead, letting another tear fall free.

"...just be honest with me. When I'm being crazy and awful... tell me. I'll be better. You deserve better." Those quiet words are a promise, to herself as much as him. She knows what she's been like in a relationship. She needs to try better this time.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden smiles and nods, "I promise, on my power."

He leans forward and places another soft kiss on her lips. "We will face this and work through it all together. But, right now, you need to focus more on getting better. The rest can wait."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
There is something in Karrin which realizes that promising on his power is a deal. A big deal. Her eyes go a little wide, trying to read from him just how deep he got them in by doing that. Because now his power depends on the things she's doing too. She hasn't found words yet by the time he's kissing her again, so she returns that kiss. She's starting to like those kisses. Like them a whole lot.

By the time they are done kissing and he's speaking again, her drugged mind has been mostly distracted. "...Harry..." she starts, trying to find the thing that was worrying her again. But she's exhausted, pain and recovery finally winning. It's simply just out of her grasp. "...I feel like... you just did something... stupid... and I don't know what." Her muddled voice rambles on. She's going to go back under again soon. But she's fighting it.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden shakes his head. "It's only stupid if I don't follow through, and all I did was promise to be honest with you. If I can't do that, well, then I deserve what is coming to me. Think of it this way, at least you know I won't be running around lying to you."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"You'd never...run around lying to me... I know that already..." Karrin mutters, cotton in her voice and eyes. But she's losing the ability to be stubborn about this, having burned through all her energy with that fairly emotional rollarcoaster ride they both just took. Her eyes grow heavier, beginning to slip shut as she turns her head to murmur one last, quietly, "...do love you.." Against his hand. But then she's out, back into blissful sleep. She's still got his hand, though her fingers are slack around his now.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden smiles softly, lifting his hand from her cheek to take hold of hers and lifting it to his lips to kiss the back of it. "I love you to, Karrin. Rest."

As she closes her eyes, Harry sits there watching her, holding her hand in his the whole time, until he can feel the spell keeping him from shorting out all the electronics start to fade. With a great deal of reluctance, he places her hand back onto the bed, leans forward for one last kiss. He pulls out his little notepad from his duster, scribbling a note on it quickly and setting it on the little table attached to the bed, and then departs the hospital.

The note reads:

"Karrin,

I couldn't stay for those reasons unique to me. Wish I could have been here when you woke up again, but this will have to do. I love you. I'll see you as soon as I can, which will likely be when you get out. Rest and be well.

-Harry"