Harry Dresden stood at the wood burning stove cooking breakfast. The smell of all of the food he was making brought back so many memories. The sizzling bacon and sweet sugary smell of waffles reminded him of traveling on the road with his dad, Malcolm Dresden. Of cozy Sundays listening to his father tell stories about his Mother that Harry could barely remember.

The scent of fried potatoes mixed with the smell of scrambled eggs to make a memory of Ebenezer's farm. He remembered eating the eggs he had gathered himself that morning, which gave him the accomplished feeling if earning one's meal.

The sharp tint of blueberry muffins brought him back to bitter memory's of training under Justin Dumorne, and sweeter memories of being with Elaine.

Harry shook his head vigorously to banish the thoughts from his mind. Those memories were important, but they didn't matter this very moment. He turned around to look at what did matter.

Maggie Dresden sat at the table waiting eagerly for her breakfast. She had dark hair and dark eyes. Her slender nose was Susan's, but her strong chin was Harry's. Across from her sat Karrin Murphy. Her blonde hair was longer now, and curling slightly. She had a cute button nose, and bright blue eyes.

The two most important women in his life sat at the table talking. Karrin was telling Maggie a story about a troll that she and Harry had taken down together, editing the tale a bit to make it a little more child friendly. Maggie sat rapt with attention, her large eyes staying focused on Karrin.

Harry put the cooked breakfast on two plates and walked over to the table, as Karrin finished the story.

"And once the troll was defeated it turned into a million tiny trolls that skittered away under the bridge," Karrin finished.

Maggie gasped slightly "Daddy, did that really happen?"

Harry leaned down and put Maggies breakfast in front of her. "Every word." He ruffled his hand through her hair and kissed her on the forehead.

"That's why I shouldn't be scared of the monsters under my bed. 'Cause you and mommy will protect me."

"That's right," Karrin said. "I will handle any monster that bothers my Maggie."

"With a little help from Mouse of course," Harry said before giving the big beast a piece of bacon.

Mouse chuffed and ate the bacon with vigor. Maggie giggled and gave Mouse a piece of her own. He licked her hand in gratitude.

Harry put Karrin's breakfast in front of her and gave her a soft, warm kiss on her lips. He pulled away and was about to go get his own plate, when Karrin grabbed his shirt collar, and pulled his face back down to her level. She gave him a big smooch on the forehead.

"I wasn't done with you, Dresden," She whispered with a wicked grin.

Maggie covered her eyes with her hands."Ewww," she said.

Harry laughed, as he straightened his shirt. It was a black T-shirt with a picture of a t-Rex lying face first on the ground, with it's head keeping its arms from reaching the floor. It read: "T-Rex hates doing push ups!" Maggie was wearing a matching shirt. She loved dinosaurs.

Harry grabbed his own plate of breakfast and sat at the table, with his girls. He always considered himself the loner type, the man who was meant to walk through life on his own, for his path was too dangerous for anyone else to join him. But as he looked at his family, and thought about all of the friends he had, he realized that no one should ever be alone.