Owner	Pose
Harry Dresden	Twenty Four hours. Karrin has been missing for just over 24 hours. Harry was sleeping for 12 of them. 11 more wasted because Harry gets his news the old fashioned way, so no TV and no internet to inform him of her kidnapping. It wasn't until he ventured out into the city to work on something else and got away from his basement apartment that he managed to catch a headline in a newspaper. Karrin had been kidnapped, and by Two-Face of all people. From there, another 15 minutes as Harry had to travel back home, 10 more to find enough strands of her hair from the pillowcase on his bed. 5 more to cast his tracking spell, 5 more to gather his coat, rod, staff and gun. 23 hours and 35 minutes later Harry Dresden ran out of his apartment seeking Karrin, and vengeance. 10 minutes after that, he quietly shambles down an alleyway, eyes focused of the rock with her hair strands tied to it, following the locator to where she is. At least he knows she is still alive. If not, the spell wouldn't have worked.
Karrin Murphy	Something about self rescuing princesses and the like, Karrin has always been one. It just took a bit longer this time. The drug worked -- not as immediately perfect as the men wished, but it worked. It worked enough that, finally, fully healed but probably half insane, she'd managed to fight her way out. Of course, that was about 20 minutes ago because timing and the world are funny like that. So, down the same alleyway but from the opposite way, stumbles a figure that is determined to keep moving forward but is seeing things that aren't necessarily there. She knows this. It doesn't make them any easier to ignore. Barely staving off the panic attack, the rising fluttering of her pulse, Karrin keeps moving forward. She has a gun that is not her's between her hands, pointed at the ground and is, otherwise, completely whole. No bandages. No IVs. Her shoulder looks totally functional from the way she's keeping that gun steady and trained. Ready to use at a moment's notice. Her blonde hair is plastered to her forehead with a cold sweat, but she looks far more like a woman who is mid fight, not who is recovering from massive trauma and surgery.
Harry Dresden	Harry isn't worried about stealth. He isn't built for it. His height alone causes him more trouble than it is worth when it comes to being 'sneaky'. He barrels down the alleyway, kicking cans and bottles out of his way as he does. The gentle tug of the locater pulling him down this alley, and not subtly so. She is close. Closer than he even suspect.
Karrin Murphy	The moment she sees him, the gun is up and drawn. Karrin knows she cannot trust her eyes right now and if he was around, he'd have come before this, right? She looks half crazed, blue eyes a bit too wide, pupils shot. But she also looks very much like Karrin Muprhy who knows what the hell she's doing with a gun and is two seconds from shooting him if he doesn't say something real good, real fast. "Convince me that you are actually Harry Dresden RIGHT FUCKING NOW before I decide to pull this trigger. ARE YOU REAL?" She asks. No, she demands, her voice cracking just the faintest bit at the end. The last few words weren't a demand -- they were a plea.
Harry Dresden	Now this, this is unexpected. The wounded, kidnapped Karrin Murphy is in the alley pointing a gun at him, apparently no longer wounded, and demanding to know that he is himself. Well, at least the tracker spell worked like it was supposed to. "Karrin?!" says Harry, in a over excited and quizzical tone. Not exactly the most convincing argument for identification. "Karrin, it's me. It's Harry. Of course I am real! As real as the note I left you on your beside table in the hospital. Hell's bells, put the gun down." Harry slowly starts to raise his left arm, shaking the shield bracelet out from under the sleeve of the duster. "How the hell are you walking around?"
Karrin Murphy	Her heart might be racing, that cold sweat on her forehead and down her neck just getting worse, but Karrin Murphy's finger never trembles on the trigger. Her hands holding that gun never waver. She's trained so deep to her core that even in the midsts of panic and quiet terror, she can hold a gun and kill a man if she needs. That gun is still trained on Harry, but she's not squeezing. Not yet. She takes another step forward to him, too wide eyes searching his face for the truth that he's there. "Anyone could have seen that note. Harvey knew about that note. How do I know you are ACTUALLY Harry Dresden?" Karrin hisses out again, not letting him come nearer to her, not giving any explanation as to how she looks in fighting form -- possibly better? Was she always this muscled before, or did she just not go around with bare arms all that often? Oh. She's also in some ridiculous play boy bunny get up... half black, half white... half ripped off of her. The important things are covered, and there is some blood, but there's a LOT more of her showing than normal.
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden says, "Stars and sky, Murphy." Harry says as he takes a step forward and places some of his will into the shield, willing it to life in a semi-transparent dome in front of him. "What the hell can I do to prove it to you? Tell you that we soul gazed each other? Shared nightmares together? Do I just need to take the gun away with a gesture and a push of will?" He pauses, cocking his head to the side slightly. "Tell you that I am half tempted to open up my wizard sight just to make sure I have a mental picture of this outfit you are wearing I will never forget? What the actual hell ARE you wearing?""
Karrin Murphy	Weirdly, it's the smart ass remarks around her outfit which seal the deal more than anything else. He can't be a figmant of her imagination -- she forgot she was wearing this ridiculous outfit. Ever so slowly, the gun begins to lower, her thumb instinctively returning the safety to it's position as she points the barrel to the ground. Now she just stares at him for a few ragged breaths, blow eyes too wide and glassy with tears she's not letting herself cry. "...Fuck...Harry... you... you're here. I..." The outfit. He was asking about the outfit. She blinks, looking back down, almost wincing to see the thing Sugar and Spice had put her into at the club... "Harvey thought... it... It'd be more appropriate. Or... the other s-side of him... did."
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden lowers the shield and rushes forward the last few steps and wraps his arms around her, pulling her close to him, hun be damned. "Of course I am here. Where else would I be than out looking for the women I love?" he says as he hugs her tightly, letting her go after a few moments. "The outfit leaves a little bit to be desired, i'll admit. Not something I would have picked out, but damn if it doesn't...accent your features nicely." Harry smiles, "You have been working out." He looks down the alleyway from the direction that Karrin had come from, "We should probably save the fun stuff for later though, since knowing you I don't think you were quiet when you left."
Karrin Murphy	Home. Real. He's real, and he smells like Harry, and Karrin nearly just collapses against him because she didn't really think she'd ever get back here. Her hands didn't shake, not around the gun, but the rest of her is. The finest of trembles back up by the fact it feels like her heart might beat right out of her chest. Somewhere between a crazyed 'roid rage and the worst of panic attacks. She gulps in a breath of air and his scent, listening to those words and giving the faintest of nods. "N-no...I wasn't quiet. Maybe they let me go. It... it's weird. I don't know. We... we should move. Yes. I don't know where my car is... just... move. Let's get moving..." She breathes out, but doesn't entirely let him go. One arm around his waist, her other still holding that gun, but her eyes are on the ground. Not the world around her. She doesn't dare look up.
Harry Dresden	"What the hell did they do to you..." Harry asks in a whisper. A question more to himself than to her, as he slides out of the duster, wrapping it around her shoulders to keep her warm, preserve her modesty, and offer her some semblance of protection from the shellwork carved into the leather. "Let's get you home. Your car is likely still at the auto shop...shit. I'll have to call Mercy and see how much I owe for the storage." He shakes his head, no time to worry about that now. "The beetle is just down at the end of the alley, though. Let's go before your 'friend' has any of his friends show up to take you back."
Karrin Murphy	Nominally, it looks like they helped her. Karrin is in one piece. She's a bit stronger than she's ever been and walking around like she hadn't been shot through the chest a month ago. This should be a good thing, right? But there is always a catch and it probably has something to do with that cold sweat down the back of her neck, or the fact she's shaking like he's never felt before. She doesn't protest the coat, letting herself be wrapped up in the familiar fabric and weight. Harry was here. They could do this. "Go...I'm with you..." Karrin coaches, letting him lead the way as she keeps her eyes down. She follows in blind trust for the moment, her car really the last thing on her mind. She squeeze his waist gently as they move, mind trying to catch up to the other question he asked. "...a drug. They... gave me some sort of drug." She's trying so hard to stay on task as they sink into the car, to keep herself together.
Harry Dresden	Harry settles Karrin into the passenger side of the car, closing the door to the beetle with a resounding *thud*. He moves around the beetle, quickly making it over to the driver's side and opening up the door to get in before sliding himself into the car. He moves to crank over the trusty engine for the beetle, slipping the key into the ignition and cracking it to turn over the engine... and nothing happens. He blinks, letting out a string of curses that would make Murphy proud as he turns the key again, and there is a barely audible whirring noise as the battery tries to to juice up enough to turn the crankshaft. "Of all the..."
Karrin Murphy	The thing about adrenaline is that the body can only produce so much. Either it's a heart attack or things just give out and exhaustion takes over. In Harry's car now, door shut against the outside world, wrapped up in his duster and facing the small, annoying problems they normally have, her body is finally starting to come down off that peak. Karrin's head sinks back, a weak, half mad little laugh escaping her lips as she realizes the engine is fucked the same time he does. "...take a breath. You've probably got enough magic energy going... to level this block. Focus it away... " Karrin coaches him softly, her voice just a rasp of breath, but it doesn't need to be louder in this car.
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden glances at Karrin. Of all the people to be coaching him on keeping his magical emotions in check, who would expect it to be her at this point in time. Funny thing is though, she is probably right. Harry takes a moment to close his eyes and focus on his breathing. A minute later, he tries the engine again and it grumbles again, but finally starts. "Well thank you, Mr. Miyagi." he says to Karrin as he throws she car into gear and takes off out of the alley as fast as the beetle can go.
Karrin Murphy	"I've been... doing that a lot lately." Karrin confesses quietly. Hell, the only reason her body probably HASN'T given out is the fact she knows how to meditate. Decades of martial art training and she can focus through hell. It's kept her half sane. Still, as she feels the engine turn over, she sinks a bit deeper into his chair and lets out a slower breath tinged with almost tears, or almost a scream, or a thousand emotions she's not letting out. Quietly, her hand reaches across the space between them, fingertips wrapping over his thigh. Just touching him. She simply needs that contact. The reassurance that he is actually real. Her fingertips grip deathly tight.
Harry Dresden	Once the beetle is pulled out into traffic, Harry relaxes a bit. The tension in his muscles slacking, something Karrin would notice with her hand on his thigh. Her grip causes him a bit of discomfort, but he lightly places his hand on hers when he is not using it to shift the car. "It's ok, Karrin. You're alright. I'll take you home." He pauses, "Did you want to go home? Or back to my apartment? Or to the station? Fuck, I should probably take you to the hospital. You said they injected you with something..."
Karrin Murphy	"...A pill, actually. A few pills..." Karrin admits, with that same little laugh. A laugh that sounds uncomfortably like Dent. Like Scarecrow. It's a distinctly Gotham laugh and it's not a comfortable one. "...didn't kill me. Don't think a hospital will help. Just... home... your home. Wards. Quiet. L-let's go back to your place..." Karrin half pleads, that being the safest place in the world she can think of. While she loves her house, it's not the citadael which is Harry's home. She stops squeezing quite so tightly, taking in a slightly shaking breath but focusing herself through it. She was safe. She had to remember that. "...it healed me up. Harvey said I'd be back to work in no time... I... I guess he was right. It helped... it worked."
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden continues to drive, making mental calculations on the best way to get back to his place. He casts a glance over Murphy's way as she talks about pills, and then gives that laugh. A laugh usually reserved for the Arkham types. "Ooook, Murphy. My place." Well, at the very least she is right about the wards. They can be used to keep people out....or someone in if it is necessary. "It doesn't take to long for him make it back to the apartment, pulling into the space that he usually keeps the Beetle. "Ok, Murph. We're here. Just give me a minute to undo the wards and we will get you inside."
Karrin Murphy	"I...I still have..." Murphy weakly reaches to her throat, where she kept that warding charm. It was there. It should have been there. It wasn't there. It hasn't been there since someone ripped it off her when the ambulance thought she was dying. She swears lightly, fingertips grasping at air, "...I thought I had it... I could feel it. Shit." Karrin admits quietly, half ashamed, half doubting her own brain again. What really is real? She waves him off gently, "Go. Drop the wards. I can walk. I'm right behind you..." She can walk just fine. Physically? She definitely looks better than she has in months. Stronger, more solid. Such a drastic change to the frail thing in the hospital bed. She shifts out of the car after him, still half drowning in his duster, as she follows him towards the familiar apartment. She slightly jumps at something, head jerking, looking over her shoulder at utterly nothing there. Another breath. Another step forward.
Harry Dresden	"Nonsense. You sit tight. Or better yet.." Harry moves from the drivers seat and slips around to the passenger side, but Murphy is up and out of the car before he makes it all the way around. "Fine...that works as well I suppose." Harry keeps pace with her until they reach the door, breaking a couple of steps ahead to disarm the wards and open the door. "Go get on the couch and I will make you some tea. Once I get you situated, I will see what I can do about finding something for you to wear that isn't fetish gear. Not that I mind the fetish fear..."
Karrin Murphy	It's still Karrin. Despite that laugh, the shaking, despite the fetish gear, it's still Karrin Murphy and she is stubborn as the day is long, so of COURSE she is standing by the time he comes around to her side. She just gives him a look. That look that says 'I got this, Dresden. WALK.' She's still definitely the woman he knows and loves, deep down. That woman's just been through hell and back. But she seems to have mostly recovered herself, now that the panic has faded. Quietly, she walks into the house with him, taking a deep breath of the cooler air and familiar surroundings. Couch. Couch sounds wonderful. Even Mouse is weirdly gentle about winding about her legs, having come out of god only knows where. She leans over, burying her fingertips into the feline's scruff for a moment or two. "...glad to see your roommates missed me." she weakly jokes. She hasn't take his duster off yet. She just walks over to the couch and slowly, numbly sits. Safe. Home. She can let go now. She doesn't let go. She remains sitting up, back straight, right on the edge there.
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden closes the door behind him, locking it and setting up the wards again. He keeps his eyes on Murphy as she moves over to take a seat on the couch, relaxing a little as she settles in. "Mister missed the ear scratches, and Mouse didn't have anyone to change his litter box." Mouse raises his head from the spot he is laying at in front of the fireplace, and cocks his head in a doggie quizzical expression. Harry moves to the kitchen, setting up a teapot to boil some water over the stove and then slips into the bedroom. His voice coming from the doorway, "I don't know what I have in here that isn't going to be comically big on you, Murph. I could take a pair of scissors to some sweats I suppose."
Karrin Murphy	"...that must be some damn large litter box." Still aware. The little, easy, funny details? Murphy can get those. She needs those. A slight smirk follows her words as she instinctively reaches fingertips up towards the stretched out, already far too large puppy. A few moments later he's lumbering over to her and Murphy just buries her hands in the heavy fur. Mouse, often so wild, eager, excited to see everyone, is utterly gentle now. A single paw on the couch next to her. Some light licking at her kneecap. Karrin takes another, deeper breath. "...Just a long shirt is... fine. It'll cover more than this anyway... One of your shirts is fine." It'll smell like him. It'll be a good replacement to the duster. But those aren't things she can voice aloud, even if he might know her well enough to hear them behind her tone.
Harry Dresden	Emerging from the bedroom, Harry wanders back in and makes his way over towards the couch, "Ok, that was the right answer. Your facilities still seem to be all in order." Harry says as he squats down next to the couch, offering over the large shirt. He reaches out with his other hand and ruffles the puppy's fur himself. "At least the fuzzball is taking it easy with you. Probably won't let you out of his sight for a while, and hell...i'm not sure I am going to either." The kettle starts to whistle, so Harry raises himself up and starts to make his way over to the kitchen, "Is there anyone you want me to call, Karrin? Work? Let them know you are ok? I am sure they have everyone out looking."
Karrin Murphy	Mostly in order. The fact that she didn't comment about work the first thing she got out? Says that something is really missing. Karrin has been married to her job before ANYTHING else for as long as Harry's known her. Even longer. She blinks tiredly, "...Shit. Work. Yeah, call... Renee`. New partner. Tell them... it's... Harvey... he just... We knew he went off the deep end. He wouldn't have hurt me. I'm fine. Just tell them that. I'll be in Monday. If...I'm not fired. Tell them that." Karrin repeats, trying to get her brain to work enough around the thought of work. One foot in front of the other -- physically and metaphorically. That's all she can do right now. She keeps that hand in Mouse's fur, almost unwilling to let go, but she'll have to in order to change. Slowly, she does, and she stands again. The duster is all too carefully shrugged off and then she begins to peel out of the weird, half ripped play boy bunny suit. She's in black lace under things beneath as well and there isn't even really a *scar* from the surgery, which is terrifying, though some of her old scars remain in place. "...we should burn these things." She mutters, as she drops the clothes on the floor and grabs for his shirt.
Harry Dresden	"Renee..." says Harry as he fixes the tea, taking some loose tea leaves and scooping them into a strainer before placing in into the pot to seep. "I didn't know you had gotten a new partner? I'll try and leave word for her." He sighs, leaning against the counter as he waits, "They know it was Harvey. It was all over the news. It's the only reason I found out..I just happened to manage to catch the newspaper headline. If it hadn't have been for that, I wouldn't have known for at least another day or more. Somehow, I think being kidnapped by Two-Face isn't grounds for termination. I'm sure your job will be fine." As she starts to change, Harry turns away and mutters out 'Hell's bells..." Old habits die hard, and seeing her change, even after declarations of love and at this point in their relationship, is still something that he is not comfortable with. "Just...toss em into the fire if you want. Wouldn't be the first set of clothes I have burned in there, and likely won't be the last."
Karrin Murphy	As he turns away, Karrin's brows just arch. That faint, familiar smirk returns to her lips, accompanied by a half husky chuckle. It's a more steady one too. "Nothing you haven't seen before, Dresden. Blushing like a school girl..." She mutters, pulling his shirt on over her head and taking a deep breath there. That's what she needed. She suddenly feels far, far more herself. She walks the bloodied, ragged clothing over to the fire and tosses them straight in. That act alone was a little cleansing. "I... I'm sorry. I don't even know how... long it's been..." Karrin whispers, leaning against the fire place quietly. Not quite willing to let go yet, to cut the careful puppet strings of control. She has no clue what will happen when she does, but she looks far more herself now. Healthy, hearty, ready to face the world. And, well, half naked... But, that's just a detail.
Harry Dresden	"Yeah, well.." Harry says with a shrug of his shoulder as he starts to pour a cup of tea, "I'm not used to seeing you in your underthings yet. This whole thinking of you as someone I can see in her underthings, or less, without being a creeper or getting socked in the junk is relatively new, Karrin. Sue me." Harry turns back around with the cup of tea and brings it over to where she is standing, offering out the warm cup in one hand as he approaches. "10 days, give or take. I didn't read the exact time of the kidnapping." 10 days. Why did it take 10 days for Harry to come find her?
Karrin Murphy	"10 days..." Karrin breathes out, slumping a bit more against the mantel. SHe takes the tea, but she doesn't sip it yet. She just holds it tight in too-steady hand as her other arm supports her. The arm she shouldn't be able to use, the one that would have been out of commission for weeks, probably months. And now good as new, easily supporting all her weight against that fireplace. She draws in a breath, just slightly shaking on the end. She doesn't look back to him. She can't bring herself to do it. "...what took you so long?" She tries to make it sound like a joke. It's not a joke.
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden visibly winces at the question, that not a joke-joke-so not a joke. "I..." He takes in a deep breath and shakes his head, "I got stuck in Faerie. For me, it was 24 hours. I feel like I just left you at the hospital no more than an hour or so ago. I went to 'talk' to Lea...because I didn't want her fucking with you anymore to get to me and, doubly so since you were wounded and, well, unbeknownst to me she altered time." He rolls a shoulder in a shrug, looking down at the floor. "But you should be safe from any dreams now, so there is that at least."