Author's note: It should be noted that this little story, set speculatively after Peace Talks, is kinda silly. It's sort of an attempt to write a romcom Dresden/Mab fic and characterisation has sometimes been sacrificed to make things work. I hope it's enjoyable all the same. :)

'I love you'. I dare you to to find three words more powerful. Nuclear warhead is two words, or at least I'm pretty sure it is, so it doesn't count. Almost all of us are on the receiving end of those words at one point or another in our lives and those moments are often some of the most important. Parents, siblings, friends or lovers, it doesn't really matter. It's always a poignant thing even if it's sometimes unexpected. And believe you me, I wasn't expecting it when the Queen of Air of Darkness told me she loved me the first time.

I'd arrived at Mab's quarters at the summon from her pet malk, Grimalken, assuming she had a new target in mind. After the debacle at the summit meeting a year before, the supernatural world had been in a state of utter clusterfuckery and I'd been plenty busy.

I'd never actually seen Mab's private quarters before, but I'd expected something much like the Queen herself, stark, cold and beautiful. To my surprise, I was led to a door of some dark wood, polished and sturdy.

I turned to ask Grimalken for directions, but he'd vanished when I wasn't looking. A shiver ran down my spine. It would've been just as easy for the creature to sneak up on me and jump at my back. With no other course of action left available, I knocked.

"Enter."

The sound of my Queen's voice prompted another shiver, though this one wasn't all about fear. Just mostly.

I turned the handle and barely got inside before I stopped in my tracks. Her room wasn't anything like I had expected. It was… kinda homey. The floor, walls and ceiling were all solid rock. It wasn't particularly big. Not cramped, but not too large, either. A large bed, Queen-sized of course, stood in one corner. Another corner had a sofa and chairs around a table with a chessboard on it and, to my great surprise, a fireplace. It was unlit, but wood lay prepared. At the far end of the room, another door led off to what I assumed to be a bathroom.

Candles were lit and spaced around the room, providing an almost intimate atmosphere.

The biggest surprise of all, though, was at the dead center of the room itself. A table had been prepared for two and Mab was already seated in one of the chairs, waiting patiently with a glass of red wine in one hand.

I frowned. I don't like surprises as a rule, but when they came from Mab they were always, always worse. Protocol dictated that I act as a proper guest, though, and the Sidhe were big on protocol. So I walked about halfway into the room and inclined my head to Mab in a bow.

A few years in the past, I probably would've made sure to inflect the gesture with a touch of insolence, but it had grown old after a while. Whatever my feelings on my boss were, the work was important and somebody had to do it.

Mab's opalescent nails glimmered in the candlelight as she issued for me to take a seat in one of the richly polished chairs and again, I obliged her.

"What's up?"

"A great many things," she replied, sipping her drink. "At present, I wish to discuss a few matters with you over dinner."

"Dinner," I echoed, brows furrowing. "Uh - okay. Why?"

She just smiled and though it was beautiful enough to inspire poets for millennia, it scared the shit out of me more than any threat ever would.

"I could hardly expect you to fulfill your purpose if you are not fed properly. Is it not how mortals discuss business? Over dinner."

"Business partners, maybe," I said. "I thought I was more of an employee."

"A valued employee," Mab said. "Someone whose advice is, betimes, sound. Will you dine with me?"

Okay, I'll amend my previous statement and say that this was far scarier, and weirder to boot. She was leaving me the opening to decline, as a good host should, but without a good excuse I couldn't say no and remain a good guest.

"Okay." I swear to God it didn't even take a second for the door to open behind us and it was sudden enough that I sprang to my feet, hand on my blasting rod.

Before I had time to do anything ill advised and pyrotechnic, however, Mab had crossed the distance between us and put her hand on my wrist. She'd once told me that if I attempted to shoot her, I'd be dead before the hammer of the gun fell, but I'd never actually seen it demonstrated. She'd put down her glass, gotten out of her chair and moved to my side in less than a second and she'd done it without making a sound.

Her hand was fine-boned, cool and as soft as velvet, but I knew she could crush my wrist in her grasp as easily as I could a raw egg. I stiffened at her touch on pure instinct as winter surged through me, urging me to fight, savage, kill.

I'd had years of experience with the Sidhe though, and rapid twists and turns didn't phase me as much as they used to.

Mab gave my wrist a light tug, turning me towards the two sidhe arriving with silver trays. I nodded politely in greeting to them, trying to act as if I hadn't been about to immolate them both. The men set the trays down on either side of the table and, I kid you not, one of them left and returned with a one half liter bottle of coke, set in another expensive silver bowl full of ice.

They bowed to us and left in silence. All the while, Mab did not move away from me and the sudden surge of adrenaline combined with the scent of her perfumes had me a little woozy. She looked up at me when we were alone again with an expression on her face that I couldn't decipher. My heart began to beat faster at the realization of how close she was, as my baser desires and my common sense waged a furious battle in my head over whether to pounce or run. I settled for a middle ground and moved over to hold out Mab's chair for her.

Again, she smiled, and again I tried not to flinch.

"Thank you," I said as I sat down. "So… business?"

We lifted the trays off and I couldn't quite restrain a chortle when I realized it was a hamburger with fries. Not only that, but I recognized it as my favorite meal from Burger King, the same one I always ordered.

I looked from Mab, to the burger and back up to Mab again. How on earth had she known? I'd never told her, which meant that she'd either spied on me when I went to eat or bargained with someone who knew me for the information. It was either really creepy or sweet, much like when she'd thrown me a birthday party in an ice model of my old apartment that one time.

I wasn't about to turn down good food but I'd lived among the Sidhe enough to know that nothing was ever as simple as it might first appear. There were always layers upon layers of motives and angles for them and with none more so than Mab.

By serving me this meal she could have some desired consequence later tonight or in a year's time. All I could know for certain was that she hadn't done it out of kindness.

So I grabbed my burger rather than the silver fork and knife I'd been given and chowed down. Mab's head tilted to the side in an expression of curiosity and then she too set her cutlery aside and ate the burger with her hands.

We'd finished the burgers off and were working on the fries by the time Mab spoke again. She'd gotten ketchup on her chin and it was, dare I say it (No I absolutely do not), cute.

"I wish to speak to you regarding my daughter."

"About Sarissa?" I asked, taking a few gulps of gloriously cold coke. Arctis Tor did not allow me to indulge my addiction nearly often enough and my eyes actually drifted shut in bliss for a moment. "What about her?"

"I wish to resume contact with her. I would like for you to facilitate this."

I frowned as I chewed on the last few of my French fries. She'd actually asked. Not told me, but asked. Mab may be many things - few of which were pleasant – but she loved her daughter.

"Considering Titania's feelings about me… Are you sure I'm your best candidate?"

"Many a year has it been since I saw a mortal go as far as you did for your child. I know it pains you a great deal to be parted from your daughter. I think you can appreciate my position."

It did. I knew it had to be that way to make sure that Maggie was safe, but not being able to be a part of your child's life hurts. I could sympathize with Mab and the position she'd been put in when her daughter had been thrust into the position of the Summer Lady.

"I'll try," I told her and for once I actually meant it.

"Thank you."

I shuffled uncomfortably in my chair. This was almost... Nice. It was a decidedly bizarre

experience.

"Uh - You're welcome."

Mab licked the salt and grease off her fingers, a sight that anybody alive would find intriguing on multiple levels and spoke again just as the silence began to get awkward.

"Come." She rose out of her seat in a flowing motion. "I have something to show you."

Mab led me to the fireplace and the logs burst into flame without her twitching an eyelash in their direction and without me even feeling a flicker of power causing it.

Two comfortable chairs were positioned a yard away from the fireplace with a table between them. On the table was a piece of paper between two frost-coated bottles of beer. Not any beer, either, but Mac's beer. Holy beer.

First thing's first, though. I sat down picked up the paper and skimmed it.

"A peace treaty?" I asked a minute later, glancing over at Mab. "The Fomor want peace?"

Cold green eyes watched me patiently and I read the text through again. It was in English only by the most technical of technicalities, archaic and obfuscationary, in the way only legal documents and college textbooks could be.

The Fomor had risen from the deeps, rather literally as I understood it, in the wake of the Red Court's destruction and had proceeded to establish their own power base to fill the gap. Their methods had been crude and ruthless and hundreds of thousands of mortals had died. Men, women, even children. The Fomor didn't care. Many minor talents had been brought into the fold of the Fomor and the White Council had been stretched thin trying to deal with the situation.

The proposed peace treaty suggested a summit meeting at a neutral ground and proposed Mab would act as arbiter and none of that made sense.

"It's a trap, isn't it?" I asked, offering Mab the document. She leaned forward and plucked it out of my fingers. "They don't really have a reason to sue for peace."

A year ago, there had been a similar meeting during which Mab had laid down the law and made a few revisements to the Unseelie accords where they detailed the rules for warfare between supernatural nations.

"Perhaps," Mab said, flicking the cap off her beer with a fingernail. "The Council have been ineffective in their efforts and though the Fomor are now limited in their recruitment since they were… chastised, they have no need to discuss peace."

I bared my teeth in a wolfish grin and held out my bottle. Mab frowned but it only took her a second or two to clink hers against mine. To call what Mab had done to the Fomor chastisement was about as accurate in scale as to call the nuking of Hiroshima a big display of fireworks.

"A trap, then. They'll try to take you out."

"Presumably."

"Well... Shit."

"Indeed."

I sat back in my chair, drinking as I thought through all the implications. The Fomor may not be aware of it, but without Mab the entire world was likely to end. Or worse yet, they were aware of it and counting on it. The Black Council was still lurking in the shadows and this could be the moment they chose to strike.

Another question occurred to me.

"Do you want me to tell the White Council about this?"

Mab took her time drinking her beer, looking straight at me as she did.

"You are under no circumstance to tell the White Council about this document."

Leaving me free to tell them about the upcoming plot, as long as I kept the source away from them. Mab wanted to know that she could depend on the Council to support her when the shit well and truly hit the fan.

"I expect you to be discreet," Mab murmured. "You are as aware as I of how deeply the enemy has sunk its claws in and the consequences of failure."

I shuddered at the memories her words dragged up from the past and redirected my gaze to the fire.

For several long minutes we sat there listening to the crackling of the flames, sipping our drinks.

"Why go through all this trouble?" I asked after a while.

Mab cast me a look I couldn't quite identify. Surprise? Maybe.

"Clarify."

"Why bother with the dinner? The beer? You could've just told me."

"Ah. Does my company not please you?"

There wasn't any particular weight to the question, but it would've been a land-mine with a human woman. With Mab I'd have to revisit the previous Hiroshima analogy.

"It's been a pleasant surprise," I said, considering my words with the same care a bomb technician would the wires in front of him. "I was just wondering what the occasion was."

Mab didn't quite smile, but the expression was there in her eyes.

"You grow wiser, my knight," she murmured. "But for once, there are no schemes. There is no need. Our cooperation over the last few years has been more productive when we have been on good terms. It costs me little to be a good host."

"I agree," I said, inclining my head. "It's been… Nice. Nicer. Considering the circumstances."

"Indeed. It pleases me that it is so. There are only so many ways to threaten a man with a grisly demise. I was running short."

I wasn't sure if that was actually a joke or not, but I chuckled all the same as I got to my feet and some of it carried into my next words.

"Am I dismissed?"

"One more thing before you go, Dresden. Harry-"

By the time I'd turned around to face her again, Mab had moved closer, close enough that the tips of my sneakers were almost touching her bare toes. She was over six feet tall, but that still put her more than half a foot below me and she had to crane her neck to look me in the eye.

My heartbeat picked up. Even if I didn't know what specifically, I knew that something was about to happen and that it probably wasn't going to be good for my well-being. My instincts were screaming out danger warnings even as I forced myself to stand stock still.

There was no opposing or avoiding the force that was Mab. The best one could hope to achieve was to divert and to that that, you had to be alert. She reached out a hand, and cool velvet-soft fingers brushed along the stubble at my jaw.

Judging by the way she was looking at me, she was trying to read something off me, trying to work something out. Her eyes were a tantalizing, almost hypnotic swirl of colours. There was something almost tender about the touch and I knew Mab well enough to be worried. Enough so that I blocked out the next few words she said, up until three specific words cut through the confusion.

"I love you."

"Uh - what?"

I'll admit I've managed wittier responses. Mab's expression mixed annoyance and pain with fondness. I think. Again, with a face like hers it was difficult to tell.

"I am aware that it is sudden and make no mistake, there is none to whom this comes as a greater surprise than myself, but… I love you."

I swallowed and tried to calm down, to slow my breathing. It went to hell.

"You can't. You're- Okay."

I managed to cut myself off half a second before calling her a liar. Not only was she physically incapable of lying, but to accuse her of doing it would be a considerable insult to her honour. Insults to Mab's honour got you crucified and enjoying the not so bright side of life for the next decade.

I fought to keep my face calm, while internally my brain was going haywire to a klaxon of "Shit-shit-shit".

"I am willing to accept some of your customs regarding these matters, to put you at ease," she said, completely ignoring or missing my ongoing mental breakdown. "As such I expect you to pick me up tomorrow evening at eight o'clock."

I blinked. She expected me to answer and - seriously - what options did I have?

"Yeah. Okay."

Mab loved me. I was so, so fucked.

It's difficult for a wizard to watch movies. What with the field of disruptive energy surrounding any practitioner and its tendency to muck up tech, it really wasn't a realistic possibility. Nine times out of ten something would break and ruining the movie for the everyone else just wasn't worth that one time.

My solution for the past 25 or so years had been to go to drive-ins. They aren't very common anymore, but there are still a few places. That's how I found myself in Aurora, laying on the hood of my car watching the large screen at the far end of the parking lot.

I was a lot more comfortable on the hood of the (Insert classic ford model) than I'd ever been on the Blue Beetle's, though and even if it was weird, having Mab lay next to me with her head resting on my shoulder wasn't all that bad.

It would almost have been worth it just to get to see her try to dress to blend into a crowd. The Sidhe were generally pretty good at passing for mortals and if you didn't know them, odds were good you'd be none the wiser until it was too late.

Even to those in the know, it was sometimes difficult.

Mab had dressed up in a simple outfit. Expensive, sure, but simple. Jeans and a knit top, its weave loose enough for her pale skin to be seen through it.

"I was under the impression that the purpose of a date was to get to know one another," Mab said.

"Your impression was correct," I said, eyes glued on the screen as the text crawl introduced us to a galaxy far, far away. "There's a method to my madness."

Mab didn't quite roll her eyes at me, but the look she gave me conveyed the same message.

"Do tell," she said, crisply.

"Dates are about getting to know someone, sure, but you never know if that's going to go well or not." I waved a hand towards the screen. "And if it doesn't then you've got the best movie ever made to watch."

"I disagree," she said, eyes on the screen. I frowned.

"How so? If you'd had a better place to go you could've suggested it."

Mab turned to face me. "The Godfather is a superior movie in every aspect."

I sputtered at the heresy. "That's debatable."

Mab leaned her head in and rested in on my shoulder. Glancing sideways I could see she'd mimicked another couple, but I didn't mention it, faced as I was with far greater problems.

"As all things are."

"All except one," I insisted. "and stop being a 's my thing."

"You vastly overrated how charming your insuscience is."

"I do not," I protested, grinning at her. "It's adorable and you know."

"Denial," Mab noted. "A proper Winter Knight ought to accept the truth and confront it. Whether that be his lack of charm or overrated science fiction."

I scowled at her.

"I can't believe you don't like Star Wars."

"I never said that. I merely stated that Godfather is a superior movie. Perhaps the new movies turn out better."

Memories of a certain character flashing through my mind. Oh the betrayal. Why, George. Why did you do it?

"They're not," I told her. "They're a blasphemy."

Mab's mouth quirked up into something of a smile.

"I am not speaking of the prequels. The new ones."

I blinked… And then I gave her my full attention. My stomach quivered with an almost childish excitement.

"Are you saying… There's going to be more?"

Mab's poker face would've given Doyle Brunson pause for thought. Hell's frickin' bells.

I'd always expected that any date between Mab and myself would end up with screaming and fire. I had not expected that had been the point when Mab had suggested we go attend a concert. Now, I'm sure the people of Finland are great a lot of things, but the music…

Fires flared up ahead, short intermittent bursts of pyrotechnics from the front of the stage. The lead vocalist was doing howling something that I was pretty sure was english into the microphone, but I couldn't for the life of me pick out any of the words.

Mab and I stood at the back, leaned up against one of the walls surrounding the stadium, well away from most of the people and all of the sensitive technology.

"I think my ears are bleeding," I muttered. "Are they bleeding?"

No mortal would've heard me over that horrible racket, but Mab did. Of course, she was standing very close, leaning back against my chest, with my leather duster wrapped around her.

"You ears are not bleeding. I believe your bloodflow is currently diverted elsewhere."

I tried to shift away from her, but she had me pinned back against the wall, and with her rear pressed against the front of my jeans, yeah… There may have been a diversion of blood flow.

"That's not the point."

Mab did not seem to feel the need to add anything to that, so I kept complaining.

"You asked Sarissa for advice, didn't you?"

"I may have counselled her."

"Uh-huh. Did she, by any chance, tell us to watch this band?"

Silence. Well, not really. I wish. The only damn thing silent, at the moment, was Mab.

"Very well, then. Do you wish to adjourn?"

"Do you?"

She turned to face me, still pressed closed.

"Perhaps it is time."

Her eyes, swirling and catlike, met mine. For a moment, the music faded to the background as Mab's lips met mine in a soft kiss. Then it all came roaring back.

"Next time," I said, "I pick the activity."

Mab was not amused as she strode out of the changing room in fatigues, protective gloves and with a helmet that looked reasonably close to something you'd see a swat team use under her arm. Considering the fact that she had a paintball gun in her other hand, grinning back at her was probably not a good idea, but sometimes you've got to indulge in risk-taking.

"Very cute," I said, eyeing her outfit. "Adorable."

Her eyes flashed with anger, even as her lovely face remained locked in neutrality.

"Is there any reason for this venue besides your obvious wish to demean me?"

I winked at her.

"It'll help our teamwork and it's fun… And what you said. That too."

I felt her scowl lingering on the back of my neck as I approached the rest of our team, trying to look friendly. A tall order - heh - for a man my size and build, but I tried. It seemed like we'd crashed a regular game between several suburban families. In total, there were about two dozen people and we'd gotten stuck with the grown-ups, one of whom seemed to be someone's grandma, while the youngest had to be about seven or eight.

We were getting quite a few looks. Husbands were sneaking looks at Mab, which their wives clearly weren't too happy about. The odds of friendly fire seemed to be growing and I hadn't even introduced them to my oh-so-charming partner yet.

"Take it easy on them," I advised Mab in a whisper.

Her teeth flashed in a predatory grin that made no such promises and I sighed. I guess I'd brought it on myself. The teams split up, going to either side of the obstacle course slash scrap yard that served as the field.

Judging by the way the rest of our little squad were talking about dinner plans, their favourite football teams and how things were going at the office, I had the feeling they weren't particularly concerned about winning.

"Do you know how to use that thing?" I asked Mab while we waited for the signal.

The Queen of Air and Darkness eyed her weapon, then me. Then she shot me in the knee. It hurt. Not as badly as getting shot with a real bullet, but it did hurt. I suppose it shouldn't have surprised me that Mab had a remote control on the pain-block of the Winter Knight's mantle.

There was a hungry expression in her eyes, at odds with her otherwise calm demeanour, and it sent a shiver of excitement down my spine. I checked on the rest of our group. Grandma was handing out pastries and plastic cups of coffee from a large thermos at the back of one of the cars they'd come in.

"Not exactly a force to inspire terror in the hearts of our enemy, is it?" I asked Mab in a whisper. "Then again, I guess they're still younger than most of The Expendables."

She glanced sideways, watching our team over my shoulder.

"The two of us should have no difficulty dispatching them."

At least someone believed in us. In the distance an air horn blew.

I was surprised by how quickly the adults stowed away the coffee and the donuts. Within a few seconds, they were ready, formed up and moving out with grandma leading the charge. I looked sideways at Mab and then we set off, too.

Our part of the field was the beginning of the scrap yard, littered with the hollow, rusting husks of old cars and all sorts of other detritus, forming cover here and there, leaving open patches of ground elsewhere.

Mab and I moved along the fringes of the established battlefield and made our way through the scrapyard. We were just about to enter the forest when they sprung their ambush.

I saw Mab jerk her head to the side as a paintball sped past her and we both quickly ducked behind cover as more rounds were fired at us, splattering against the carcass of an truck.

Half a dozen kids were popping up like dandelions from a ditch just by the treeline.

"Remember what I said," I told Mab. "They're just kids. Be nice."

I poked my head up and saw a bunch of them advancing. Cover-fire shattered the glass in the car's side-way mirror.

"Stop camping, faggots," called a squeaky male voice from the ditch.

I exchanged a look with Mab.

"You know what… Forget what I said."

Carnage ensued and ten minutes later, we stood alone in the clearing.

"Well," I said, wiping sweat off my brow with the sleeve of my jacket, carefully avoiding using the parts coated in brightly coloured paint. "I think that means we won."

Mab eyed my paint-spattered and generally disheveled self with a look of supreme disapproval.

"A hollow victory," she noted. "Our only gain was the knowledge that you need further training in the use of modern weaponry."

I raised an eyebrow at her, barely able to hold back a smirk.

"So what you're really saying is that we should come back here and do this again sometime soon. For practise."

My tone of voice may have contained a hint of sarcasm.

"One of many possibilities."

I grinned at her openly and put an arm around her shoulder, purposefully getting paint all over her fatigues.

"Admit it, Mab. You had fun."

She gave me a look, but I knew her well enough to see the confirmation she wouldn't vocalize. Might as well indulge her and save her pride.

"If it helps me to serve you more ably, my queen, then I shall do so."

Mab knew it was bullshit, but if there is anything the Sidhe appreciate it's good bullshit. They do not appreciate being shot in the ass with a paintball gun. I found that out a moment later when I discharged my weapon and hit Mab's spectacular posterior in a splash of green.

Mab stiffened at the impact and slowly turned around. The birds all around us went silent. The wind stopped and even the sun was suddenly blotted out by clouds. Left in its wake was an absolute, dreadful silence as the full weight of the WInter Queen's wrath pressed down on me. Sometimes I'm really stupid. I'm aware of this slight but very charming flaw to my character.

I took a step back in pure instinct, or I tried to. I'm not sure if I ever actually managed to move my foot before she hit me. All I know is that a moment later, something hit me and I found myself on my back on the ground with Mab's soft weight on top of me, cerulean eyes boring down into mine from an inch away, her lips almost brushing against mine.

I could feel her cool, eager breath on my I couldn't string enough thoughts together to say anything.

"I am aware that it is considered inappropriate for mortal companions to strike one another and I will strive to respect that custom… To a degree. Do I make myself clear?"

There was something hungry and darkly amused in her voice and I felt myself shiver.

"Yeah," I croaked. "Sure."

Someone a few feet away cleared his throat.

"Listen, buddy," he said, sounding a little uncomfortable. "This is a family place. Would you mind taking it somewhere else?"

Mab's eyes never leave mine, but when she spoke she was clearly addressing the man.

"Your complaint has been noted," she said. "Begone."

He sputtered something and there was a soft sound as Mab discharged her weapon, followed by a pained whimper and retreating footsteps until we were alone again.

"I think we've overstayed our welcome," I said, voice still rough.

"Indeed."

Mab pulled me to my feet as though I didn't weigh almost twice what she did. There was a shimmer in the air, nothing more, and then we'd moved back into the Nevernever.

By the time I'd gotten a hold of myself again, we were in Mab's private quarters in Arctis Tor.

Our paint-spattered, dirty outfits left a trail on the hardwood floors and I winced.

"I should probably get back to my room," I said. "Get myself cleaned up."

"Nonsense," Mab said. "Come."

She opened the door to the adjacent room and issued for me to go inside. I did and stopped, gaping. The living room might have been simple and elegant, but the bathroom was a different matter.

It looked like a public bath right out of ancient Rome, both in appearance and in scale, with polished marble floors leading into a pool. Braziers were lit in the corners of the room providing an intimate atmosphere and though I had not seen the gap in the structure of the tower, there was no outer wall, just pillars and the lands of deepest Winter spread out in the distance before us, illuminated by the stars and whatever the Nevernever version of the Aurora Borealis was called.

The view was gorgeous and thoroughly distracting, but not so much that I didn't hear the sound of clothes falling to the ground. My heart sped up and I swallowed nervously.

"By my estimation," Mab said and a moment later her soft, naked and very womanly body pressed up against me from behind, arms sliding around my shoulders to keep me trapped.

"This is our third date and it is time for us to observe the traditions that follow."

Well, shit. At least I'd been right in a sense. Fucked.

I'd established Sunday dinner at the Carpenters as one of my standing engagements for the week ever since the heist at Hades' vault and had, save for a few extra crazy weeks, mostly stuck to it.

Most of the time, it was a fairly low-key event, just myself, Michael, Charity, Molly, little Harry and whichever of the rest of the Carpenter kids happened to be around. The house had felt too large ever since his kids had moved out for work or college.

Today wasn't one of those days, though. It was Michael's birthday and the whole clan was there to celebrate, along with several other guests. My brother was there with Justine, who was still in a wheelchair after a supposedly out-drawn delivery of their daughter, but who was smiling radiantly all the same.

Most of the attention had been focused on two weeks old baby cradled in Justine's arms, photos being taken with those new cameras in people's cell phones but they moment I arrived almost every single person turned towards me.

I'd like to say that it was because of my dashing new haircut, or my suave outfit or even my studly looks, but I knew it wasn't. It was because of who I had at my side as my date.

The reaction was mixed, from awed stares, to worry, to outright fear and hostility. I took Mab's hand in mine and squeezed it lightly to let her know to stay where she was. Michael was moving up towards us, leaning on his cane with each step.

He looked concerned despite the friendly smile. He was smart enough to know how much of a threat Mab was and that going for a weapon wasn't the best bet. Most importantly, though, he trusted me. I know I was just saying he's smart and I realize the two things generally don't coincide. I guess we all have flaws.

"Harry," he said, his voice warm. His eyes shifted to Mab for a moment, then back to me. "I never actually thought you would take up Charity's advice on bringing someone."

I tried to smile. It felt strained. It wasn't improved when I caught Michael casting a glance over my shoulder to the little gate to the backyard, where several guardian angels stood unseen at all times.

Mab didn't miss it and her eyebrows rose a fraction in an amused expression.

"Be at ease, sir knight," she said. "Had I fought my way through your sentinels it would not have gone unnoticed."

I could have sworn I heard a derisive snort from somewhere behind me, even though I couldn't actually see anyone there.

"We're not here to cause any trouble," I assured Michael. "Either of us."

Charity came up at her husband's side, linking their arms. Unless you were looking for it, you wouldn't notice that she was supporting some of his weight, but I did and I grimaced in sympathy. Michael was a good man and even though I knew he was happy to be retired with his family, good men still don't deserve to be crippled the way he had been, or to live with the pain he lived with.

"And yet trouble seems to follow you, Dresden," Charity said. There wasn't any of the malice or anger that the words might have carried in the past, though, and I smiled innocently at her.

"It is good, knowing that he will be there when trouble has arisen," Mab said. "Even though that is because often he is its cause."

I wasn't sure if she was actually defending me or making fun of me or both. Probably both. Michael gave me a nod of approval and I continued into the garden before Charity and Mab had more time to bond and gang up on me. If there was one thing that I did not need in my life, it was that.

My brother was giving me a questioning look from where he stood by Justine's side and I linked my arm with Mab's as I steered my steps in his direction. I might as well let him get on with the teasing.

He eyed me, then Mab, eyebrows raised speculatively and not quite managing to hide his smirk. The bastard. Because I am a mature adult, I pointedly ignored him and sat down next to Justine and my niece. Christ I was getting old.

"Do you want to hold her?" Justine asked.

I tried to answer but my throat tightened to the point where I couldn't, so I just nodded. I was fortunately too manly to cry. The onions, frying on the grill, were to blame.

I reached out very, very gently and accepted the little girl in her bundle of blankets, making sure to support her head. She made a little whining noise and I panicked for a moment, glancing sideways to Justine, but then she settled down again, snoozing happily.

It was a strange feeling, one I'd never experienced with my own daughters, the first being hidden away from the world (and me) until she was 8 and the other being sort of incorporeal. Speaking of…

"Daddy!" A young girl's voice cut across the general din of voices. There was a flash of dark hair and bright red jumper and then Maggie's arms tightened about my throat in a hug.

"Careful," I warned her, holding out one arm to make sure she didn't jump on me. Her large brown eyes, so much like her mother's that it hurt to look at them, widened in surprise and then realization, and she eased off me. I hugged her as well as I could with only one arm and ruffled the girl's dark hair before she could get away.

"How're you doing, kiddo?"

"Good," she replied dutifully. "School's been fun."

I smiled at her. "And how about your sister?"

She caught on right away, of course. She'd inherited her father's brilliant deductive reasoning.

"Great!" She exclaimed. "She really likes the house and we've been playing with my dolls."

"We'll go inside and say hi to her later."

"Okay!" She looked up towards Mab, who still stood hovering by my shoulder. "Who is she?"

"Uh." I considered the question. I had nothing. "She's daddy's…"

Maggie's eyes widened.

"Oooh. Is she your girlfriend?"

Fuck. I could feel the weight of Mab's full attention on me and I knew that my answer would be important. So I considered my words carefully. Feel free to check if Hell's still frozen over and if pigs have discovered aviation.

Mab and I were, technically speaking, going on dates. We'd done so for a while now and I had taken her to see my friends and family.

"Kinda," I said, hoping she wouldn't notice how stiff my smile was. "Why don't you run off and play?"

"Okay!"

Maggie grinned and hugged me and then ran off towards the house. She skittered to a brief halt by the door when a familiar young woman showed up there. Molly. My old apprentice.

"Kinda," Mab asked, her tone arctic.

I cast her a sideways glance. "I don't want to discuss my lovelife with my daughter, Mab."

"And yet you did. Inaccurately, at that."

My finely tuned instincts told me she might possibly be angry with me.

"You're right. We are dating, so you are my girlfriend."

Mab nodded, seemingly satisfied with that.

"She resembles her mother," Mab noted, watching Molly lift my daughter and hold her upside-down.

I winced. "Yeah."

Molly exchanged a few words with my daughter and the moment the little girl was set down, she turned around to stare at Mab with eyes widening in wonder. The glint in my old apprentice's eyes suggested she was up to no good. My suspicion was confirmed a moment later when Molly walked by, humming the tune of a certain recent Disney movie that Maggie had made me watch about a dozen times, and I winced.

"How did the two of you meet?" Justine asked from behind me.

I had almost forgotten she was there. It was probably a talent she'd picked up as a secretary to a vampire, being inconspicuous. Justine was watching Mab curiously. I had a feeling she didn't know what she was, but that she had some clue.

"She walked into my office one day," I told her. "needed my help."

Justine laughed. It was carefree and beautiful. "They all do, huh?"

I grinned. "Yep."

Mab watched us talk for a while until Thomas returned with the baby and the siren call of charred meat called me to the barbecue. Michael was manning the grill and handed us both hot dogs. It was when we'd finished our food and I, without considering it, reached out to brush a smear of mustard off Mab's cheek that it really struck me.

Hell's bells. Mab really was my girlfriend.