Murphy was waiting when I got back. I was starting to get a bit suspicious about all that. I didn't need a babysitter, didn't need any of them hanging around me, but it kind of took the sting off to realize that even at this age, I was still more than a head taller than her. I had a sudden urge to just ruffle her hair or hold something above her and make her jump for it, but a tiny little voice more interested in my survival pointed out that she'd just drop me if I did.
She looked at me and shook her head. "That coat's hanging off you. You look like you're playing dress-up in your big brother's clothes," she said. "You know, I always thought you looked like you could do with a couple dozen good meals, but now... did you--"
"Not that skinny," I said, trying not to sound like I was whining. "Seriously, why does everyone keep saying that? I'm just, you know, growing in."
"Filling out?" She suggested, smirking a little, then turning serious. "So do you know how long you're going to be like this?"
"I'm working on it," I said, waving her in. We got to the kitchen and I fixed myself a sandwich from Thomas's leftovers, basically everything that was left between too slices of bread, then sat down at the table and took a bite. Murphy was staring at me and I felt a brief pang of guilt. "Uh, do you want some?" I said, then swallowed and tried again with less food in my mouth. "Sorry, I mean, do you want some? I could cut you off a bit."
She shook her head. "I'm good."
"Cool," I said, grinning and went back to finishing off my sandwich and wondering why I didn't do things like this more often. Ham was good, pastrami was good, salami and chorizo and roast chicken were good, obviously, they'd all be good together in a salad with cheese and those tomato and artichoke things Thomas had brought.
I finished and Murphy was shaking her head at me. "I've seen wolves-- hell, I've seen werewolves go through a meal slower than that." She smiled at me, one of the real ones she doesn't do anywhere near as much as she should. "You could give some of my cousins a run for their money."
"I don't know if I should be insulted, impressed or intimidated," I said.
"Big family," she said. "I know how much a teenage boy can eat." She shook her head again. "It's really hard not to treat you like you're the age you look," she said. "My mother would keep you in the kitchen for a week until she was sure you'd eaten enough."
"Did I ever mention how much I liked your mother?" I said.
"You've met her once, Harry," Murphy said.
I grinned at her. "Yeah, but she reminded me of you."
Murphy's fact twisted, her trying not to smile back and then giving up. "You're still a foot and a half taller than me and I just want to ruffle your hair. Harry, you're adorable,"
I gave her a disbelieving look. "I've been called a lot of things, but no-one ever called me that. Even Elaine drew the line at cute."
She leaned forwards over the table and ruffled my hair. I stopped myself flinching back and let her, and it was good. Nice, with Murphy smiling like that and hell, it wasn't look anything would make my hair look any worse than usual.
"Okay, enough with me pacifying your biological clock," I said, ignoring her flat look at that comment. "So I think I've got a rough idea of how the spell worked. I just need to crack down on a few more details.
I gave her the same background I'd given Marcone, then expanded on my theory. "It's the only thing that makes sense," I said. "The person that did the spell, he had it set for a group. He wanted it to work for all of them. He wanted to go back to when he was happiest," I said. "Wind back the clock to when he was, and then roll them back the same."
"That's kind of sad," she said.
"it's selfish," I said. "When he was happiest, not the rest of them." I gestured at myself. "Who'd wish being a teenager again on anyone? Just turn the clock back fifteen years, never mind if your kids were moody teens or your wife was secretly unhappy, just so long as you were."
"No, it took effort to do it like he did," I said. "He had to make the spell ignore everything but how it was for him." I struggled to put it into words. "Look, say it's your mom, right? And the happiest she was in her life was when she was, I dunno, twenty-five. Twenty-five, she's happily married, maybe she's got a kid. you're cute as a button and a world away from ever putting on a gun, maybe your dad's still in uniform..."
Murphy made a go-on gesture. "But would you really want to be two years-old for the rest of your life, just because that's when your mom was happiest? because that's part of what made your mom happiest?" I said. "Or maybe it was later, when she had all her kids and you were fifteen... trust me, Karrin, you don't want to be fifteen again just because someone was happiest when you were." I paused. "That came out a lot sleazier than I meant it."
She nodded and looked a little sad. "I think I know what you mean." Murphy had been married and divorced twice. She probably had a better idea than I did.
"So we need to find a couple things to break the spell," I said, happy to move us both past the awkward moment. "We need to know who was the trigger for the spell. Who was happy when they were the age they are now, when they were that age for real." I frowned and parsed the sentence. "Yeah, that makes sense. Obviously not me. Probably not Marcone or Gard. They don't feel different enough for it to have counted. Which leaves Marcone and Thomas."
"If it Thomas, wouldn't it be from before he turned?" Murphy said.
"Probably, but not necessarily." Even if you didn't know about being a White Court Vampire, growing up in the house of Madrigal Raith couldn't have been a barrel of laughs. Maybe it had been easier, after, in the time when he'd had an excuse for it all, something he could drown himself in, and before he'd grown up enough that he couldn't ignore everything that went with it.
Or maybe not. We didn't really talk about that stuff.
"I think you're right, though. It is more likely that it's Marcone. When I saw him--"
"You saw Marcone?" She said, her voice sharp.
"Yeah," I said.
She pursed her lips and looked at her hands for a second. "Look, I know you're not actually a kid, and maybe you don't need me to tell you this--"
"Never stopped you before," I said. "And you know I always need you to tell me when you think I'm being stupid. I don't promise I'll listen to you, but..."
She nodded. "I know. So Marcone wants you badly enough even at the best of times, and I'm guessing that right now, his self-control's not as strong as it usually is."
I felt my face turn red. "What-- hell's bells, Karrin, I'm not-- and Marcone's not the type to go for skinny teenagers, especially guy ones." I thought about the women I'd seen him with.
She nodded and looked impossible uncomfortable. "I'm not just talking about wanting to fu-- wanting to have sex with you, Harry. He wants to own you and..." she sighed. "Okay, you know you're not completely yourself right now, right? And Marcone is good at playing on people's instincts." She lowere her voice and sounded soft, kind. the way she did interviewing a victim. "You know the sort of thing he can offer, right?" Her voice went bitter. "To take care of you, protection, safety..." She shrugged. "He wants to give that to you anyway, and now especially, you look like you need it and Harry, you..." She spread her arms in a mute gesture of apology. "You look like you might want it. Not from him, just in general."
"I'm not that pathetic," I said.
"Jesus, Harry, that's not what I'm saying-- look, teenages don't make smart decisions a lot of them. You know that. They get in over their head, maybe get involved in something they shouldn't." She gave me a flat look that reminded me just how much I told her about my past. "And they maybe say yes to people they shouldn't." Her voice went soft again. "People aren't fairies, but there's still power in letting someone give you something. It's instinct or evolution, maybe. I've eaten enough bad stake-out takeout to know that eating together can be freaking bonding, whether you want it to or not."
"I'm not about to let him do any of that stuff," I said. I laughed, precisely because it wasn't funny. "Maybe my reactions are wrong now, but I've got a lot more experience and..." I thought about Elaine and Justin, about the Leanansidhe. "Trust me, I've got a lot more know-how on how to avoid traps and my instincts right now tell me I'd chew my own leg off before letting me get caught in one." I took another deep and tried a smile that I knew wouldn't fool either of us. "But it's all kind of moot, because we're going to fix this thing, and you can get back to worrying about me like normal. You're used to that."
I don't think so. Not the OP, but I read that as Kincaid and Gard being ruled out as the people the spell hit, which leaves Thomas and Marcone as possibilities. How did you read it?
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Fight or Flight 6
(Anonymous) 2011-03-21 09:06 pm (UTC)(link)Murphy was waiting when I got back. I was starting to get a bit suspicious about all that. I didn't need a babysitter, didn't need any of them hanging around me, but it kind of took the sting off to realize that even at this age, I was still more than a head taller than her. I had a sudden urge to just ruffle her hair or hold something above her and make her jump for it, but a tiny little voice more interested in my survival pointed out that she'd just drop me if I did.
She looked at me and shook her head. "That coat's hanging off you. You look like you're playing dress-up in your big brother's clothes," she said. "You know, I always thought you looked like you could do with a couple dozen good meals, but now... did you--"
"Not that skinny," I said, trying not to sound like I was whining. "Seriously, why does everyone keep saying that? I'm just, you know, growing in."
"Filling out?" She suggested, smirking a little, then turning serious. "So do you know how long you're going to be like this?"
"I'm working on it," I said, waving her in. We got to the kitchen and I fixed myself a sandwich from Thomas's leftovers, basically everything that was left between too slices of bread, then sat down at the table and took a bite. Murphy was staring at me and I felt a brief pang of guilt. "Uh, do you want some?" I said, then swallowed and tried again with less food in my mouth. "Sorry, I mean, do you want some? I could cut you off a bit."
She shook her head. "I'm good."
"Cool," I said, grinning and went back to finishing off my sandwich and wondering why I didn't do things like this more often. Ham was good, pastrami was good, salami and chorizo and roast chicken were good, obviously, they'd all be good together in a salad with cheese and those tomato and artichoke things Thomas had brought.
I finished and Murphy was shaking her head at me. "I've seen wolves-- hell, I've seen werewolves go through a meal slower than that." She smiled at me, one of the real ones she doesn't do anywhere near as much as she should. "You could give some of my cousins a run for their money."
"I don't know if I should be insulted, impressed or intimidated," I said.
"Big family," she said. "I know how much a teenage boy can eat." She shook her head again. "It's really hard not to treat you like you're the age you look," she said. "My mother would keep you in the kitchen for a week until she was sure you'd eaten enough."
"Did I ever mention how much I liked your mother?" I said.
"You've met her once, Harry," Murphy said.
I grinned at her. "Yeah, but she reminded me of you."
Murphy's fact twisted, her trying not to smile back and then giving up. "You're still a foot and a half taller than me and I just want to ruffle your hair. Harry, you're adorable,"
I gave her a disbelieving look. "I've been called a lot of things, but no-one ever called me that. Even Elaine drew the line at cute."
She leaned forwards over the table and ruffled my hair. I stopped myself flinching back and let her, and it was good. Nice, with Murphy smiling like that and hell, it wasn't look anything would make my hair look any worse than usual.
"Okay, enough with me pacifying your biological clock," I said, ignoring her flat look at that comment. "So I think I've got a rough idea of how the spell worked. I just need to crack down on a few more details.
I gave her the same background I'd given Marcone, then expanded on my theory. "It's the only thing that makes sense," I said. "The person that did the spell, he had it set for a group. He wanted it to work for all of them. He wanted to go back to when he was happiest," I said. "Wind back the clock to when he was, and then roll them back the same."
"That's kind of sad," she said.
"it's selfish," I said. "When he was happiest, not the rest of them." I gestured at myself. "Who'd wish being a teenager again on anyone? Just turn the clock back fifteen years, never mind if your kids were moody teens or your wife was secretly unhappy, just so long as you were."
"No, it took effort to do it like he did," I said. "He had to make the spell ignore everything but how it was for him." I struggled to put it into words. "Look, say it's your mom, right? And the happiest she was in her life was when she was, I dunno, twenty-five. Twenty-five, she's happily married, maybe she's got a kid. you're cute as a button and a world away from ever putting on a gun, maybe your dad's still in uniform..."
Murphy made a go-on gesture. "But would you really want to be two years-old for the rest of your life, just because that's when your mom was happiest? because that's part of what made your mom happiest?" I said. "Or maybe it was later, when she had all her kids and you were fifteen... trust me, Karrin, you don't want to be fifteen again just because someone was happiest when you were." I paused. "That came out a lot sleazier than I meant it."
She nodded and looked a little sad. "I think I know what you mean." Murphy had been married and divorced twice. She probably had a better idea than I did.
"So we need to find a couple things to break the spell," I said, happy to move us both past the awkward moment. "We need to know who was the trigger for the spell. Who was happy when they were the age they are now, when they were that age for real." I frowned and parsed the sentence. "Yeah, that makes sense. Obviously not me. Probably not Marcone or Gard. They don't feel different enough for it to have counted. Which leaves Marcone and Thomas."
"If it Thomas, wouldn't it be from before he turned?" Murphy said.
"Probably, but not necessarily." Even if you didn't know about being a White Court Vampire, growing up in the house of Madrigal Raith couldn't have been a barrel of laughs. Maybe it had been easier, after, in the time when he'd had an excuse for it all, something he could drown himself in, and before he'd grown up enough that he couldn't ignore everything that went with it.
Or maybe not. We didn't really talk about that stuff.
"I think you're right, though. It is more likely that it's Marcone. When I saw him--"
"You saw Marcone?" She said, her voice sharp.
"Yeah," I said.
She pursed her lips and looked at her hands for a second. "Look, I know you're not actually a kid, and maybe you don't need me to tell you this--"
"Never stopped you before," I said. "And you know I always need you to tell me when you think I'm being stupid. I don't promise I'll listen to you, but..."
She nodded. "I know. So Marcone wants you badly enough even at the best of times, and I'm guessing that right now, his self-control's not as strong as it usually is."
I felt my face turn red. "What-- hell's bells, Karrin, I'm not-- and Marcone's not the type to go for skinny teenagers, especially guy ones." I thought about the women I'd seen him with.
She nodded and looked impossible uncomfortable. "I'm not just talking about wanting to fu-- wanting to have sex with you, Harry. He wants to own you and..." she sighed. "Okay, you know you're not completely yourself right now, right? And Marcone is good at playing on people's instincts." She lowere her voice and sounded soft, kind. the way she did interviewing a victim. "You know the sort of thing he can offer, right?" Her voice went bitter. "To take care of you, protection, safety..." She shrugged. "He wants to give that to you anyway, and now especially, you look like you need it and Harry, you..." She spread her arms in a mute gesture of apology. "You look like you might want it. Not from him, just in general."
"I'm not that pathetic," I said.
"Jesus, Harry, that's not what I'm saying-- look, teenages don't make smart decisions a lot of them. You know that. They get in over their head, maybe get involved in something they shouldn't." She gave me a flat look that reminded me just how much I told her about my past. "And they maybe say yes to people they shouldn't." Her voice went soft again. "People aren't fairies, but there's still power in letting someone give you something. It's instinct or evolution, maybe. I've eaten enough bad stake-out takeout to know that eating together can be freaking bonding, whether you want it to or not."
"I'm not about to let him do any of that stuff," I said. I laughed, precisely because it wasn't funny. "Maybe my reactions are wrong now, but I've got a lot more experience and..." I thought about Elaine and Justin, about the Leanansidhe. "Trust me, I've got a lot more know-how on how to avoid traps and my instincts right now tell me I'd chew my own leg off before letting me get caught in one." I took another deep and tried a smile that I knew wouldn't fool either of us. "But it's all kind of moot, because we're going to fix this thing, and you can get back to worrying about me like normal. You're used to that."
"Looking forward to it," she said.
Re: Fight or Flight 6
(Anonymous) 2011-03-21 09:22 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Fight or Flight 6
(Anonymous) 2011-03-21 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)Also, Murphy and Harry having a "talk" about Marcone's thing about wanting Harry...lol
Re: Fight or Flight 6
Huh?
Re: Fight or Flight 6
Re: Fight or Flight 6
(Anonymous) 2011-03-22 08:34 am (UTC)(link)Re: Fight or Flight 6 <- should be Gard & Kincaid
(Anonymous) 2011-03-22 10:24 am (UTC)(link)Re: Fight or Flight 6