Building Faith

By Ellf

What is Known 26

Disclaimer: Jim Butcher owns the Dresden Files, any other works of fiction mentioned are not owned by me.

When my eyes next opened, I couldn't tell where I was. I was laying down in some… bed. Some single bed with railings. Oh God, where was I? I tried to sit up, but I could barely move. Why? I was strapped down? Who was keeping me prisoner? Was… where… My eyes flit around the room.

I didn't appear to be in a cell of some sort. A TV sat on a stand that hung in the far right corner, and the door had a window on it, but it wasn't barred. I turned my head and moved my arm as much as I could, only to be stopped by the straps. Oh, God. Where was Molly? Molly wasn't here, where was she? Was she okay? My sister. I needed her here. She needed to be here, and I just…

Was there less oxygen in here? I breathed in and out, trying to fill my lungs, even as my heart pounded. Molly wasn't here. I was strapped down. Where ever here was, I didn't… I couldn't… There was something in me, some sort of tube in me, in my arm. And I... and Molly wasn't here! Where was my sister? Where was I? My… I needed her!

"Mmo…" I couldn't talk! There was something in my mouth! In my throat… it burned. It, oh, God, I just… I needed Molly here. I needed to know she was all right. I needed her to be all right. My sister. My twin. She needed to be here, and she wasn't.

I needed to get off this bed. I needed to! I pulled at my restraints, using every aspect of my muscles that I could. I lifted my body upward as far as I could go, only to slam back down on the bed. Grunting with the effort, I did it again, ignoring the tears that ran down my face. I needed to get to Molly. She needed me! I needed her!

"Oh, Lord! Faith!" The door opened inward, revealing Mom, holding a Styrofoam cup of something hot. Which she placed down on a nearby table before running over to my side, and then she hugged me close. "It's okay, sweetie, Mommy's here."

My heart still pounded, and I looked for Molly through the door, but I didn't see her. Mom's presence was comforting, but there wasn't any Molly. My sister never was apart from me for that long. It wasn't right. She had to be okay.

"Faith, honey." Mom ran a hand through my hair. "Calm down, It's okay. Molly's fine. She's just at school."

"Mo…" Whatever was in my mouth made it impossible to actually talk.

"Hold on, I'll call the nurse and we'll get that tube out of you and you unstrapped so you can sit up," Mom said, and she reached over my body to push a button. No light came on. No sound. "Useless. I'll be right back, sweetie, and we'll see if we can get the nurse button fixed."

Mom let go of me and walked out of the room. My heart still pounded, and my head throbbed, but if Molly was at school, she had to be okay… and I apparently missed an entire day, at least. I wasn't… I must have been at the hospital. My eyes flicked to the side, where an IV pouch hung and pushed fluid into my arm. I looked down… a tube. I was intubated. This was not going to be fun at all, but I could breathe.

Mom came back into the room with a nurse and a glass of water. She wasn't terrible looking, but I was far more focused on what she was doing for me. She slowly removed the tube from my throat, pulling it out of my mouth and then she unstrapped me and manually sat the bed up because for some reason the automatic motor wasn't working when the button was pressed.

"If you need anything else, give a shout. If we can't get your call button fixed, we'll get you another bed or a bell or something." The nurse waved as she went out of the room.

I sipped the water. Against my sore throat, it felt a bit soothing, and I looked at Mom. My heart still…

"Faith, I'm so glad that you're okay. That driver really did a number on you and your sister," Mom said. Wait, what?

"Driver?" I asked out loud and then winced. It hurt to talk somewhat.

"Your sister, a couple of your friends, and you, were in an accident. Luckily someone saw what happened, and he managed to get you here safely. Even if he should have called an ambulance," Mom frowned. "Still, he and his little girl stayed here until I was able to get here, and I appreciate that."

"Molly?" Guess I had to be monosyllabic. It hurt too much to say anything else.

"She has a broken arm. I guess you pushed her out of the way at the last minute," Mom said, but her eyes narrowed. "Sweetie, do you remember what happened?"

I closed my eyes for a second. I didn't really want to remember. I knew it wasn't a car, but I didn't want Mom to know that. I couldn't tell her we were fighting something in the Oblivion War. She wouldn't understand, and it'd put her further in danger than she'd been just as Daddy's wife. Maybe when I could actually talk in more detail, I could tell her… something. After Molly and I revealed our magic.

"No," I whispered, and then I took a sip of water. "I can't."

"Maybe it will come back, or maybe it's for the best." Mom hugged me, and I returned her hug to the best of my ability. "Now, I'm sorry to leave you here, Faith, but I can't check you out until the doctors say you're ready to go home."

"Understand… but why leave?" I asked.

"There's a more… difficult… patient I need to check on at home," Mom admitted, and I could see the distaste on her face along with a feeling of frustration.

"Harry?" I asked.

The look on Mom's face told me everything. "Fool wizard got himself shot. He couldn't come to the hospital because he might break something important. So he's in the guest room."

"Ah." That begged the question. Why was I in the hospital? Did I break anything important? Lord, I hoped not, and shot… wait. "Daddy? Sanya?"

"Your father and Sanya are fine, despite the gunfire they faced," Mom said, running a hand over my head. It was comforting.

"Kevlar armor," I concluded.

Mom smiled at me. "That's my girl."

She kissed me on the forehead. "I'll send your father and Molly later with something a bit better than the hospital food. You should get some rest."

"But…" I yawned.

"Faith, I know you've been unconscious for longer than I care to think about, but you weren't sleeping. Get some rest so that you can be awake when Molly and your father show up." Mom stood up.

"Jawas?"

Mom snorted. "Sanya is watching your youngest siblings for me so I could be here. Sleep, Faith."

"Kay…" I yawned again, and as Mom went out the door, I closed my eyes. Hospital. Car accident. Sounded a hell of a lot better than Old One and vampire beating, I supposed. I just hoped that when I woke up again, I could speak better. That it'd hurt less. Molly'd be there though when I woke. Molly and Daddy…

Sleep sounded wonderful.

The next time I woke up, Molly was holding my hand with her left hand. She smiled at me, but I frowned when I looked down and saw the black cast over her right arm.

"How bad is it?"

"The doctors think I should be able to have the cast off within six weeks," Molly said. "Mom let us know you woke up earlier and there was a chance you'd wake up again when we got here."

"Us?" I asked, and looked around. A muscular hand reached under my back to help me sit up as the back of my chair was raised, radiating comfort. "Ah, Daddy…"

My father smiled. "Do you think you're up for talking with the doctors, Faith?"

"I… don't know." I swallowed slightly, and Daddy brought some water to my mouth. I sipped it, and swallowed, cooling my throat. "Maybe…"

"Fai, you don't—"

"Have to. I do." I squeezed Molly's hand, lightly. "You can't—"

"Talk for you." Molly sighed.

I looked to Daddy, trying to study him. "Daddy, Shiro?"

"He… didn't make it," Daddy said, shaking his head. "By the time we managed to get to him at the airport's chapel, the spell had already taken hold. We hadn't time to try and get him help when we got there. He ordered us to leave him, to chase after the shroud."

"Shroud… where?"

"Harry's handling it when Charity says he's good to go," Daddy said. "You don't need to worry about it."

Well, if Harry was going to handle it, I guess I had to be fine with it. "Kay. Shot?"

Daddy smiled. "My faith protects me. In more ways than one. Thank you for the Kevlar, sweetie."

"Mom's idea," I said, and Molly squeezed my hand again. God, it felt good to have her here. "Molly stay?"

"She has to go to school tomorrow, but I doubt I could keep her away," Daddy said, standing. "I'll go get the doctors."

"Kay." I smiled. "Love you, Daddy."

"Love you too, both of you." Daddy left the hospital room. I hadn't noticed the first time I woke up, but it looked like I had a room to myself. Could Mom and Daddy really afford this?

"Cecelia's… gone," Molly said once Daddy had left the room. "Officially she got killed on impact with that hit and run, but..."

"Thomas," I said. "Needed."

Molly nodded, blinking away some tears. She reached up her hand and wiped some off of my own face.

"Glenn and Jason are in comas, like you were. The little girl, Ivy, said she wasn't sure if they'd ever wake up," Molly said.

"Drew?"

"He's fine. Had a concussion, but he's mostly over it. He was in school today."

"Ivy?"

"She's with her… Well, the guy. Mr. Kincaid," Molly shivered, and I felt a pang of fear. "The Archive, Ivy… She's a cute kid, but she's a little scary. Thomas gave her the book that Cecelia used… and she took out this box. This thing… this wrong thing was inside it, and she used magic to drive it into the book before somehow moving it back into the box."

"Book's gone?"

"Dust. Whatever that was… it utterly destroyed the book."

"Good." I nodded. "Can't be used again."

"Yeah." Molly locked eyes with me, and we breathed in and out for a few seconds, enjoying just being with each other. When the door to the room opened again, Molly and I jolted apart, and Daddy came back in, with the doctor and the nurse who had removed my tube following.

The doctor asked about how I was feeling, ran some diagnostic tests, and then ultimately decided to prescribe me some medicines that would help with the pain. He gave me an idea of roughly when it would be okay for me to get checked out of the hospital, but he wanted to be sure that I was well on the road to recovery when that happened. Being awake was a good sign, but he needed me able to stay awake for a decent length of time before he could feel comfortable releasing me to my family. I didn't really blame him either, as I laid there in the bed. My eyes felt droopier and droopier as the tests went on.

Eventually, I lost my battle with my need for sleep and passed out again. The next few times were like that, awake for less than an hour, asleep for much more time. From what the doctor was able to tell me, this was normal for someone in my situation. I'd managed to get some food down a few times, and drink each time, but I still hadn't been able to get out of bed. Which is probably why they hadn't removed one more tube yet.

I woke, two days after my first time in the middle of the night. Someone had been in the room, watching me. I blinked my eyes a few times, and there she was, standing by the doorway. The woman was a raven-haired beauty. Her hair was so dark and glossy that it almost looked blue in its highlights. She had creamy skin and dark pink lips that were perhaps a bit large for her face, but not so large as to detract from her beauty. No, they added to it. Then there were her eyes, which I looked away from swiftly after looking at them. They were large and oblique, grey with some flecks of periwinkle. Hints of a dangerously seductive intelligence hid behind them, and a dark sense of humor. Something about her smoldered with some sort of lazy sensuous hunger. She wore her curled hair loose over a white blouse and dark jacket with a matching skirt that went down to her mid leg. Oh, and those legs…

My heart pounded as I studied her features, and a smile quirked her lips. I wanted to be the cause of that smile.

"Like what you see, do you?" Her voice was low, with a hint of come-hither, and oh, God, she was a vampire. An ungodly sexy vampire whom I really didn't want to care about the fact that she was…

"Thomas's sister?"

"Smart. I like that," the vampire woman said, and my heart fluttered. Damn. She was affecting me more than her brother did, but I didn't think that Thomas actually was trying. "And alive, too. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Lara."

… This was Lara Raith. Lara Raith was in my hospital room, and oh dear Lord, she was a cheating fucking vampire too. I didn't want to… I didn't want to want to, but oh, God, I wanted to.

"Why…?" My throat had been getting better, but it was remarkably parched at the moment.

"Kitten, I'm here because you survived. Not only did you survive, you won," Lara said, smiling wider. "For something like that, you deserve a reward…"

My eyes flicked down to her blouse and then back up to her lips. I silently prayed for the temperance to resist this. This would end badly if I gave in, and I knew it. My body, however, really wanted to give in, and I could feel my mind wanting to as well. Oh, how I wanted to.

"No..." I swallowed hard. Down girl. "No reward necessary, Lara."

The vampire smiled. "I could take it from you, you know. Force it upon you, and you would enjoy every single second of it."

"But you won't," I said. "Will you?"

"No, I won't." Lara shook her head. "You are, after a sort, my responsibility now. I would prefer that you came willingly."

"… Not right now." I couldn't say never. As much as I should have, Lara was just… She was worth it once, but if I was ever going to do something with her, I needed to be comfortable with myself first. I wasn't, and I wasn't going to let my first experience be with a White Court vampire. No matter how good it promised to feel.

Lara's lips curled. "Perhaps when you come of age. Fourteen is a bit young for me, anyway. Don't worry about your medical expenses, Miss Carpenter."

"Huh?" This was a bit of whiplash.

Lara stepped partially out of the door. "Welcome to the Venatori."

The door shut, and I found myself passing out again.

I dreamed during these downtimes, of ways that I could have prevented everything. That I could have saved Cecelia, that I could have saved Shiro. I could have stopped it. If I had just remembered everything. I woke up crying too many times over the next couple days because I knew that I had failed my friend, and I had failed my father's mentor.

Daddy told me during one visit that Shiro had been dying. Cancer. I'm not sure how I'd forgotten that, or why he hadn't told me during his talk with me. Maybe… maybe he wanted me to accept that there were some things that I shouldn't change. Some things that I couldn't. It wasn't enough though. Shiro might have died, and Harry stopped the Denarians because of it. I just couldn't… I needed to be able to make things better. Cecelia dying… that was worse.

During one time awake, I turned on the news. It had been the middle of the day, and the TV only had about four channels that actually consistently worked, so I watched. I actually blinked and did a double-take. The news ticker below said "DOWNED SATELLITE FLATTENS TOWN IN SOUTH AMERICA."

"In what can only be described as an extraordinary event reminiscent of the science-fiction horror stories around the turn of the millennium, what appeared to be an asteroid fell from space and impacted just outside the village of Casaverde in Honduras." The screen switched to an aerial shot of an enormous smoking crater and a half-mile-wide circle of trees that had been blasted flat. Beyond the circle of destruction stood a rather poor-looking village. "However, information coming in from agencies around the world indicates that the so-called meteor was actually a deactivated Soviet communications satellite which decayed in orbit and fell to earth. No estimates of the number of deaths or injuries in this tragic freak accident have reached authorities, but it seems unlikely that anyone in the manor house could possibly have survived the impact."

I turned down the news at that, blinking. I remembered something about Casaverde, Honduras, but I couldn't remember exactly what—Ortega! Duke Paolo Ortega had a manor there. My eyes flicked to the screen. Emphasis on the had. Something had happened, and Ortega was probably dead now, which made every Red Court vampire that I'd met now among the no longer living.

This gave me a strange sense of comfort as I switched the channel to something else.

A couple days later, Mom and Daddy came to check me out of the hospital. They'd brought the entire family to help load me into the van. While I'd insisted that I could actually walk myself, I stayed confined to a wheelchair until we made it out to the car. Danny and Mattie helped Daddy move me from the chair to the car's seat, and when I was in there, Hope and Amanda kind of latched on to me, sandwiching me between the two of them. Harry—my brother, not the wizard—even seemed excited to see me, all smiles and giggles. Molly sat on the other side of Hope, but close enough to me that she could reach over with her bare arm and brush my skin.

When we got home, there was a big meal prepared already and I could smell cookies. It was a good family dinner, with just some relaxing conversation about school, and how Molly and I were excused from Gym until we were fully healed. Mom and Daddy both promised us that so we wouldn't get out of shape, they'd work with us within the confines of our injuries. Then Daddy mentioned the barbecue he had planned that weekend for Sanya's leaving. He and Mom didn't quite argue about Harry coming, but Mom wasn't entirely happy about it. She respected Daddy's decision though.

Molly and I shared the bed that night, my arm curled around her waist, and her arm wrapped behind my neck.

The next day, I helped Daddy prepare the grill and the meat, but Danny quickly took over and I let the two of them have their father-son bonding time. Instead, I went and watched over Hope and Harry as the two were playing in the living room until Harry showed up and the food was ready.

I wasn't really all that hungry, so I only managed to get one cheeseburger and a hot dog, but it was enough when combined with my large glass of Iced Tea. The snow that had been on the ground had melted enough that Daddy's green grass could be seen on the ground. I knew he had been proud of managing to have grass that green in February, and I was glad that he could show it off.

A bit after we ate, Molly and I were tasked with watching Harry while Mom and Daddy were cleaning up the various dishes and such that had been messed up by the barbecue. We'd moved to the back porch, and Molly had roped Sanya into a little game with the phone book. Prince Albert in a Can. I wasn't entirely sure whether the Russian man was genuinely confused or if he was just playing along for our benefit.

I moved to the yard, where Harry had been crawling around, messing about with the grass.

"Fai-Fai!" Harry giggled as he plopped down, sitting in the grass and pulling at it a little.

I smiled.

"Cute kid," Harry Dresden said as he walked up next to me. "Was going to comment something about him playing alone, but you're out here with him."

"Well, it doesn't take both of us to mess with the Knight of Hope," I said, walking a little closer to my brother. "Harry, there was something that I wanted to—"

I heard a clinking sound, near my brother. Something shiny landed in the grass by him, and he pushed himself to his feet, wobbling slightly and started heading for it.

Oh God, no. That wasn't… I ran for my brother at the same time as Harry, and I scooped him up just as Harry slammed his hand down over… Shit. That was. Shit.

I looked up and saw a car on the street with its driver-side window rolled down. The man at the wheel leaned back and smiled at me and Harry. "Be seeing you, Dresden. Miss Carpenter."

Nicodemus Archleone had nearly given a coin to my brother… to me… I looked to Harry. The wizard was trembling, his hand in a fist, and he stared at me. I could feel his fear. Of the coin, of what he had done, of… what I could say.

"Harry…" I started, but the door opened, and in an instant, Harry's hand was open again, empty of anything. I knew he'd grabbed the coin, but… I followed his gaze. Sanya was there, frowning and looking down the street. The Knight must have felt something.

His nostrils flared a few times, and I sniffed too, to try and… Oh. Harry. Sanya sniffed a few more times, as he walked over to us. He sniffed again, at the baby in my hands.

"Aha," Sanya said. "Someone is stinky. Faith, would you mind if I took him off your hands?"

I shook my head. "Harry…"

"I need to get going," the wizard said.

Sanya nodded and grinned. The two shook hands. "It has been a pleasure to work with you, perhaps we shall see each other again."

"Maybe," Harry said, and he turned to leave. I wasn't going to let this be, so I stalked out after him, even if it meant I had to move faster due to the stupidly tall man's gait.

"Harry! Stop for a second!" I said.

"Faith, I need to go, and… I don't know," Harry trembled more. The coin must have been affecting him already. Lasciel must have been doing something.

"I know. I just…" I grabbed his bare hand with my own, and oh holy shit, that was weird. Strong. Touching Molly felt like a comfort, but touching Dresden… even when prepared for it, he was… It was like trying to bring my hand close to a raging inferno without getting burned. I pulled my hand away after a second.

"Faith, you…" Harry looked at me, but I avoided his eyes intentionally. I didn't want to soulgaze him.

"I have magic. So does Molly," I said. "We need help. Training."

"But I—"

"Can resist it. You're the best wizard we know, Harry. Please."

Harry closed his eyes and… well, I guess he forced himself to calm down. I didn't know what the coin was doing, but he managed to speak without that hitch in his voice. "Come by my office on Monday after you're done with school. We'll see what the two of you can do then."

"Okay," I said, and I stepped away from the back of his Beetle. "Stay safe, Mr. Wizard."

"Hey, it's me." Harry got into the Blue Beetle and started it up. He pulled away from our house, and drove off, presumably to deal with whatever he could from the coin.

Once Harry drove off, I shivered. I nearly took the coin myself. It could have easily been me who was dealing with whatever Harry had going on.

"Faith, are you all right?" I jumped, but Daddy stood at the garage entrance.

"You saw, didn't you?"

"Harry taking on a tremendous burden to save my children? Yes," Daddy frowned. "I don't like that he'll have to deal with that, and I pray that I don't have to…"

"I nearly… I could have grabbed it before Harry did, Daddy. I very nearly did."

"But you didn't, Faith." Daddy walked closer to me.

"It would have been a…" I trailed off. I didn't… I flinched away from my father. If he knew…

"Faith, what has you so worried?" Daddy cupped my chin, pulling my face so I could look at him. I couldn't help but look into his eyes, but I wanted to… I needed to…

Too late. I'd barely noticed that the soulgaze was starting until we were already within it. Before me was my father, a strong man, pious, faithful. He blazed with love. Love permeated every act, every single thing that he did. Love for family. Love for friends. Love for God. Love for all. He stood, an embodiment of the virtue of Love. Was it any wonder that he had been chosen to wield the Sword? Amoracchius's power, the power of the Divine touched my father, and it worked through him. Daddy was the embodiment of a Knight.

I saw the moment he rescued my mother, bound in the circle as a sacrifice to Siriothrax. I saw him fight for her, breaking her chains, slaying the dragon. I saw the love he felt for her, to help her heal, and to be healed in return by the love. I saw the love he felt for each of us as we were born, as he held us in his arms and as he watched us grow. I saw the love that had him fighting alongside Harry Dresden, from a costume party to on a train. The love he felt that had him fighting Denarians because they needed to be fought, they needed to be opposed. The love he felt for his duty, to save them, to get them to reject the coins and give them up so that the Church could take them.

I saw him martyr himself out of love, saw him standing with his grandchildren, saw him standing beside Harry in a dark vault, facing down a bear-like Denarian and… more. My father, Michael Carpenter, was Love in the way that God was, and it echoed in his soul, warming my own.

The gaze faded, and I looked to my father, to Michael, to Daddy… Just as I'd seen him, he'd seen me. What would he have seen? Would it cause him to reject me? Would it—

Daddy wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. "You have such a burden, my child. I would take it from you if I could."

"Daddy…"

"Harry agreed to teach you?" he asked.

"Yes. Molly too."

Daddy smiled. "Good. I might not be equipped to help you with this burden directly, but he is. I have faith that he'll make the right decisions."

"Me too," I said, leaning into the hug some more. "Me too."

The barbecue wound down after a bit and Sanya had to leave. He promised to keep in touch, and I knew we'd see him again soon enough. Molly and I met up with Drew to go to Cecelia's funeral, such as there was one. It was a closed casket affair for both her and her mother, and there were maybe two other people there besides the three of us and the priest. It wasn't pleasant, but it was a bit of closure. We chose to remember her as she was before we found out about the book. It was easier that way.

Monday afternoon quickly came, and Molly and I took the bus to the office building that matched the address in the phone book. Yes, Harry really had an ad in the phone book. Yes, it was under "Wizard." Yes, it was the only one.

We climbed the stairs to the appropriate floor for the office. Neither Molly nor I wanted to trust an elevator that looked as suspect as that one, and we approached the door that simply said "HARRY DRESDEN, WIZARD" on it.

Shortly after we knocked, Harry came to open the door, looking a lot better than he had when he was leaving the barbecue.

"Ah, grasshoppers, you're early. Good." Harry smiled, stepping aside so we could enter. We did so, easily. "Let's see what you can do."

We may not have known much about magic yet, but we needed to learn. It was time we did just that.

What is Known End

Author's Notes:

So, that's the end of the first book of Building Faith. This is the first fanfic that I've ever actually managed to write to completion, and definitely the longest one I've ever managed to write. Faith's adventures will continue, of course, but each arc is about the equivalent of a Dresden Files novel. It's the few days out of the year that Faith and Molly's lives are not normal. For them, anyway. If you enjoyed this, please feel free to review.