Disclaimer: Don't own it. No money made. Just having fun

I'm a lucky man, evidenced by a few things. One, I'm alive. After all of mortal, immortal and semi-god beings that I have pissed off, trust me, my being alive is evidence that someone up there is smiling on me…not because he likes me, of course, but because he has a extremely sick sense of humor. Two, when necessary, I've got a solid group of people who I can depend on in a crisis. And three, Karrin Murphy is my friend.

After she left, I know I should have spent some more time on the Gatekeeper's warning. Maybe call Ramirez or one of the ParaNet to see if anything out of the ordinary was going on, but I couldn't.

In all the time that I've known Murphy, she has never run from me. She's seen me do terrible things. She has no illusions about what I am capable of. Hell, she probably knows my limits better than I do; that never scared her. But this, a hurt little girl inside her soul, sent her running for the hills and I didn't know why.

The first step in every investigation is to talk to those closest to the victim. Murph would shoot me if I ever called her a "victim", but the term is for the situation, not the person. There are two reasons why a detective (or investigator like myself) talks to the friends and family first. One, they are your most likely suspects. It is a fact that most victims knew their attackers. Second, the close friends and family give you the best idea of a person's behavior and lifestyle better than C.S.I. super science ever could. Especially when it comes to supernatural events. If I wanted to know what Karrin was like as a little girl, there was one person who I thought would talk to me. One person who I think likes and respects me enough to be honest with me. Murph would never forgive me, but I gathered up my courage… and called her mother.

"Hello," a sweet voice said over the phone after the second ring.

"Aaa, hi…Mrs. Murphy?" I asked, suddenly sheepish.

"This is she. May I ask who is calling?"

"Harry," I coughed, trying to get my voice to work better, "Harry Dresden, madam."

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed, "What happened? What hospital did they take her too?"

What exactly does it say about my life if, when I call the parents of my friend, they automatically assume their child is in mortal danger? More to the point, what does it say about me when that reaction is perfectly appropriate?

"Relax, Mrs. Murphy. She's fine. I'm calling for personal reasons," I said.

"Personal?" she asked, "Meaning what?"

"I have a few question to ask."

"Really?" she replied sounding… intrigued like we were sharing a secret, "Karrin said you were bit old-fashioned."

I was taken aback. Murph talks to her mom about me?

"I guess that's one word for it. Murph usually just says 'Dresden, you're a pig.'"

Momma Murphy humphed, "Typical."

"Actually I had some questions about Karrin's childhood."

"Childhood?"

"Yes, what was she like? Did she have any enemies? Her friends?" I continued.

"Mr. Dresden, I saw you with my daughter. You two are close. Why can't ask her yourself?" she asked.

This is one of those times where being a wizard sucks. I can't exactly say I looked into your daughter's soul and saw a bruised girl while in a self-induced trance. It just wouldn't work. But I didn't want to lie to her either.

I finally settled on, "The last time we were talked, I accidently hit a sore spot. She won't talk to me."

"Sound like my daughter. Was she crying?"

"I don't know. She left before I could get a good look," I said.

"She was crying," Mrs. Murphy sighed, "My daughter hates being vulnerable. Even when it's justified. When my husband … passed. She cried once at the funeral, fighting it the whole time. Trying to be like the cops that had attended, I think."

Murphy's father committed suicide when she was 11. I suppose that could justify the little girl I saw. Soulgazes were mostly metaphor anyway, but it didn't feel right. Murph told me about her dad years ago and I couldn't see her reacting the way she did if that's what she thought I saw inside her.

"Were there any other events or changes that happened around that time?" I asked.

She sighed, "Honestly, I couldn't tell you. You have to understand, I had just lost my husband and was thrust into single motherhood with 4 children. The pension helped, but I wasn't in a good place."

"I'm sorry," I said lamely. Way to go, Harry, I thought, Making two women cry in a week. You're all heart.

"It's been over twenty years. You'd think I'd be better than this," she muttered, making the similarities between her and Karrin a little more obvious.

"Grief doesn't understand time. Believe me, I know. There's no shame in missing someone you loved," I replied.

Mrs. Murphy was quiet for a minute. The sound of her breathing over the phone was my only clue we hadn't disconnected.

"Aikido," she said finally.

"Huh?"

"After Colin, Karrin become…focused. Aikido, school, taking care of her brothers and sister. Anything she could excel in, she did," Mrs. Murphy paused for breath, "At the time, I was grateful. She took some weight off of me, but it was unfair. She stopped being a kid and was more like a second mother to her siblings."

"Wow." I said, in awe of the kid that was Karrin Murphy.

I hadn't really thought about the full effect on the family and Murphy's role in it. When my parents died, I didn't have family and was responsible only for myself. No wonder she's a good cop, she's been looking out for people since puberty.

"Mr. Dresden," she started.

"Harry," I interrupted her.

"Harry, my daughter's not weak," she said.

I smiled, "Trust me, I know."

"But she's not invincible either. Look after her?"

"I will," I said and looked into the fireplace in my living room.

"I swear on my power, I will," I finished.