A/N: Yes, she needs a name. So…

… .

Dresden's Daughters

by Shadow Crystal Mage

Chapter 2: "Baby Names" or "In which this might be the last chapter"

Disclaimer: The Dresden Files and all related non-public domain characters are the creation and property of Jim Butcher and is being used here in parody, which is protected speech.

… .

Baby Names

Names, as anyone on the supernatural side can tell you, have power. In the supernatural world, they were a combination social security number, Facebook, and back door to your brain. A lot of beings were literally defined by their names, and changing or otherwise messing with a name can be very dangerous. Extremely so.

Names, as anyone could tell you, were significant. They affected what people called you for the rest of your life. A bad name could lead to suffering for the next twenty years if you were unlucky, and until the day you died if you were REALLY unfortunate. Many a child of the hippy movement introduced themselves as Frank to protect themselves from the shame of admitting their birth certificate read 'Faramir'.

Names, as any parent could tell you, were important. You just didn't pick one out of a book and slap it onto your child. It had to be the RIGHT name. You didn't saddle some poor girl with a name like Gretchen when it as clear she was an Elizabeth. It just wasn't DONE, and the paperwork would have to be glaringly blank until they found the baby's proper name, and screw the hospital's administration.

Names, as any child could tell you, could be frustrating. After all, why should they have to put up with it? They hadn't been consulted, after all, didn't get a vote.

Most of the time, anyway.

"No," the cute, young voice emanating from the lovingly carved if slightly macabre wooden skull said. "No, not 'Kim', father. It builds on a bad precedent. Besides, that Korean lunatic is ruining it."

The spirit of intellect, formerly-and-never-to-be-referred-to-as 'the parasite', no-that-definitely-wasn't-her-name, sat in her borrowed sanctum in the middle if the table. Her family sat around her, her sister Maggie occasionally reaching over to trace one of the many designs carved on the wooden skull. "How about 'Twinkly Smart'?" Maggie proposed. "Because she's twinkly and she's smart!"

"No, Maggie," Harry said patiently. It was weird saying that, when his first instinct was to say yes to anything his daughters wanted.

"Cutie Smart?"

"No, Maggie."

Maggie pouted. "Why not?"

"I don't want you sister to sound like a character from My Little Pony," Harry said. "She'll never get any respect when she grows up."

Maggie frowned. "What's wrong with My Little Pony?" she demanded, and Harry could feel the offended challenge.

"Nothing!" he said. "Twilight Sparkle is great! It's just, you know, your sister's not a pony."

From Maggie's expression, she wasn't buying this.

"I also don't want the name 'Athena'," the youngest Dresden said. "I don't think they'd like it."

"Fair enough," Harry said. He paused in thought. "Let's get rid of the bimbo names too."

"What's a bimbo?" Maggie asked.

"Women who aren't very smart and do stupid things," her little sister said promptly before Harry could make some bullshit up.

"Oh, like Paris Hilton?" Maggie said.

Her sister nodded."Exactly."

Harry wasn't sure the warm pride he was feeling at the exchange was socially acceptable.

"Names?" he prompted.

Maggie made a thinking face. "Jenny?"

"Hmm… " her sister said. "Jenny Dresden… I don't know,doesn't sound right. I don't think I'm a Jenny. Besides, daddy killed a monster called Jenny once." Somehow she managed to give the impression of leaning towards her sister. Maggie leaned in to. "She was mean," the spirit confided.

Maggie nodded. "Then it must be a mean name," she said authoritatively. "No mean name for my little sister. We'll get you a nice name." Maggie suddenly grabbed the wooden skull and hugged it. "Because we love you"

Harry was pretty sure the warm feeling this time was perfectly acceptable. And he wasn't crying, he just had something in his eye.

"Uh, how about 'Jedi'?" he proposed awkwardly.

Maggie and her sister both gave him a look. How a wooden skull managed to look as skeptical as the little girl holding her, he had no idea. "Jedi?" they said doubtfully.

"As a middle name?" he said lamely.

The sisters exchanged glances. "He likes Star Wars," the spirit of intellect said, sounding apologetic. "At least it's not 'Leia'."

"What's wrong with 'Leia'? Harry asked.

"Too passive a character," the spirit said ruthlessly. "I want a name that says I do things."

"Her hair is weird," Maggie agreed.

Harry wasn't sure if he should be aghast or horrified. But… Well, at least they got along?

He wracked his brain, trying to think of a name. How did parents do this? The only babies whose reasoning for names he knew had been named after people. "Maybe we're going about this the wrong way," he tried.

Maggie looked up at him ernestly.

"We've just been saying names that soun nice," he said. "What kind of name do you want? What do you want your name to say about you?" He paused. "Better yet, what do you want to be?"

"I want to be brave," the spirit said promptly. "I want to be brave and strong. I want to help people and do good and… and… And be really cool!"

"Like Mouse," Maggie chirped.

"We're not calling your sister 'Mouse'," Harry said quickly.

"Of course not," Maggie said as if the idea were silly and daddy ws silly for even saying it out loud. "Mouse is one of a kind!"

Harry ruminated. "How about 'Faith'?" he suggested. "I once knew a very brave, very strong, very smart little girl named 'Faith'."

"Faith Aster?" the spirit said. "Didn't she kick you really hard in the shin?"

"And that was very brave of her at the time," Harry said.

The spirit glanced at her sister. "What do you think?"

Maggie made her thinking face again. "Okay. But only if your nickname can be 'Twinkly Smart'." She gave her dad a challenging look. "It's her nickname, so it doesn't count!"

And what could he say to that?

"Okay then," the spirit said. "But I want a different middle name! 'Faith Jedi Dresden' sounds weird!"

"How about 'Molly'?" Maggie suggested. "Molly's nice. She'll let you have her name."

The spirit brightened. Her eye liights literlly got brighter. "Oh, yes. And I don't have anything of hers, so it's all good." Another thought seemed to strike her. "Can she be my faerie godmother?"

Harry held up a hand. "One thing at a time, darlin'," he drawled. Then, conscientiously, he add, "But we can ask her."

And so was the youngest Dresden officially Named Faith Molly J. Dresden.

Who from that point on was only called Twinkly Smart.

Names had power, after all.

… .

- To be continued…

… .

A/N: her name will likely e way different when the next book comes out, but so what? It's the scene that matters.

Please review, C&C welcome.

Until next time, this is Shadow, signing off.