Taking Rose
Almadynis
AN: This is a one-shot based on the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. The character Rose is completely mine; all others belong to Jim Butcher.
AN2: I am currently in school, writing helps me relax, but it means that posting is few and far between. Nothing I can do about it. Sorry.
AN3: There is a poll going on now in my profile. Please vote on your favorite story!
My name is Harry Dresden and I am shopping. Those of you who are not female should know exactly how much I enjoy this task.
The mall is a wonderful place to lose yourself. The different shops with huge windows of pretty things you can't buy are distracting to the extreme when you don't have something else on your mind. And while I was in the latter category, my daughter was in the former.
Little Rosalie, barely four, was riding my two-hundred pound temple guard dog, Mouse, like a pony, holding onto his collar with both hands, giggling with every other step of the huge creature. Ever since the incident when she first came into my life, the two had been inseparable. I was the only one that Mouse even let touch Rose the couple of months after I got her back. Neither ever complained. Though I will admit that Rosie is probably going to grow up a social misfit from her daddy's protective and paranoid ways, she knows that she is loved. She also has at least one constant friend in Mouse.
Sometimes I even notice that Mouse will do things before Rose asks him to move. I have to remember to ask Sheila and Michael about that. They would know whether this is a child trait or not. Of course, I could always ask the Faerie courts, but why push my luck?
Anyway, I am currently shopping in the mall for new clothes for my fast-growing bundle of mischief. It's not that she means to get into everything, but somehow Murphy's Law and its hatred of me have been passed down genetically. Which explains almost everything that happened next. Fortunately for the moron, I wasn't around and only heard about it second hand.
Little Rosie clung tight to her steed's collar, squeezing with her knees to keep her seat. Mouse had obliged her with stopping to peer through the window of the toy store. She knew that she couldn't go in because dogs weren't allowed in the stores, but she still liked to look. The fluffy puppy that was the spitting image of Mouse in plush form made her grin widely. "Puppy!" she called to her father, pointing to the stuffed animal. When no answer came, she looked around, but couldn't spot him in the crowd of people that suddenly seemed scary.
Slipping off of Mouse's back to the black and white tiled floor but still holding his collar, Rose began to look all around for the brown leather coat indicative of Harry Dresden. She frowned intently when no coat appeared magically like it usually did when they were separated. Clear sky-blue eyes turned to stare at Mouse, "What do we do now?"
She was a wizard's daughter, so knew that something could have happened to her father that probably involved running, and was both scared for her daddy and happy that she didn't have to run. Mouse was a good horse, but uncomfortable for long runs. So all in all, Rosie wasn't really scared yet. After all, she had Mouse and he would protect her from anything.
"Did you lose your mommy?" The voice came from behind her, making Rosie turn around quickly with a squeak of surprise. Mouse moved with her to stay by her side. The tenor belonged to a mid-twenties male with brown hair and glasses. He had on blue jeans and a black t-shirt. He looked very friendly. "That is a nice dog you have." He held out a clenched fist for Mouse to sniff, which the dog did carefully. "I can help you find your mommy. What does she look like?"
The man held out his hand to the little girl. She smiled up at him innocently and reached out to grasp it. "I don't have a mommy. I live with my daddy. He's—" which was as far as she got before the man picked her up and tucked her against his side, one arm around her back and one pushing her head into his neck. Rose couldn't speak anymore from the pressure as the man began to walk quickly away.
No one had ever called Rosie stupid. She began to fight the mean man, kicking and hitting for all she was worth. Her little teeth caught the neck they were held to and created a yelp. He jerked her back, giving her enough time and breath for one word. "MOUSE!"
A gray blur weaved between shoppers as the two-hundred pound self-appointed nanny ran to his charge's rescue. Afterward, witnesses were able to tell the police that the dog was a good dog and only bit the kidnapper. It was the kidnapper and momentum that took the chunk out of his right leg. Mouse bit and held, but he is a rather large dog, with hundreds of pounds of pressure per square inch, and so from hip to mid-thigh, the man would forever have a reminder of his stupidest moment.
Within seconds, the little brown-haired girl was back on the dog's back, clutching his collar.
Within minutes, the police and an ambulance arrived.
When the police discovered exactly whose child this was, they called Murphy. Who then told the potential kidnapper in a very polite voice, "You would like to file a lawsuit for a dangerous pet? Well that is your right. Give me your name and describe the incident." To which the moron immediately complied. "And done. Now, you are under arrest for attempted kidnapping, animal abuse, resisting arrest, and being too stupid to live." She leaned in close to him as the ambulance stopped at the hospital entrance. "You have no idea who you tried to take, and you should pray to God that her father never learns your name."
Murphy looked at the EMTs and commented, "This idiot tried to kidnap Rosalie Dresden."
The technician on the left raised an eyebrow. "And he's still alive? Mouse is getting old."
No lawsuits were filed. The next day a man limped out of the hospital against medical advice and did his best to disappear. Unfortunately for him, you can't run far enough when the Faerie Courts, Vampire Courts, and the High Council decide that you are a threat.
A monthlater, the kidnapper truly did disappear from the face of the planet. It was about twenty-nine days and twenty hours after he began to beg for death.
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