friends4

With Friends Like These ...

Bob was nowhere to be seen when Harry returned; Harry presumed he was in the lab buried in some dusty old tome. Literally. With a sigh he flopped down on his oversized, comfy couch. Bob had been right; the working on Murphy�s amulet had taken a lot out of him. Food had helped, but now he needed to recharge.

Soft snores from the vicinity of the couch helped Bob find Harry when he emerged from the lab a few hours later. He�d been about to vent his frustration at the difficulties in translating oriental languages again, but the sight of Harry sleeping so peacefully immediately deflated that balloon.

Instead, he �sat� on the chair beside the couch and let his thoughts return to a much more pleasant topic � his conversation earlier with Connie Murphy. How lovely it was to finally have such pleasant company! Since he�d lost Winnifred, there had been very few women in his life. Wizards and sorcerers tended to be a solitary lot. All of his �owners� had been men; it simply was the way of things in those days. Even those who took a wife rarely involved �the skull ghost� in their non-wizardly affairs. The Morningways� use of him as a tutor for their children was a fairly recent development; really, Justin and Margaret had been his first students. And they had been occupied enough with each other that they had never needed him the way young orphan Harry had.

And so truly, Connie was his first female friend since his death. That was a sobering reflection. And yet it explained why this felt so important to him. She was lovely, and charming, and sweet, and strong and all the things he found attractive in a woman. He recalled Harry�s words from the other night: �I could fall in love with her all too easily.�

Bob sighed. Harry was definitely right about that. But that made Bob think about just what it was that he felt for Harry. Love, certainly. Sexual attraction, definitely. But with Harry, there was something more, something he couldn�t quite put a name to. A sense of belonging. They had been through so much together. He had literally died for Harry. Their love was something beyond the ordinary.

So yes, he might just fall in love with Connie. But even that wouldn�t compare to what he had with Harry. He understood Harry�s desire to make sure she didn�t get hurt. But Bob dearly wished there was a way they could make something work. He loved having sex with Harry, but in his current state, it had its limitations. To be able to truly hold his lover, to kiss her, feel the softness of her breasts, the warmth of her body as he entered her �

Still sound asleep, Harry let out a soft moan. Bob glanced over at him and realized that Harry was dreaming. Once before, Harry had picked up on Bob�s thoughts in a dream. From the sounds that he was making now, and the pronounced bulge in his jeans, it seemed he had done so again. Bob smiled, wishing he had a solid hand to reach out and encourage Harry�s dream, first his fingertips and then his palm rubbing over the too-snug fabric. He couldn't do that, but if his thoughts had triggered Harry's dream, then perhaps that was the way to go.

Bob closed his eyes and let his fantasy go, holding Connie in his arms, touching her, kissing her. He couldn't feel physical pleasure in his ghostly state, but there was a certain mental pleasure in indulging his fantasy. For five centuries, it had been all he'd had. Now at least he had a recent memory of what true physical arousal felt like, and it intensified his fantasy.

He could hear Harry moaning softly, beginning to thrash around in his sleep. And then, softly, "Oh, man. You're doing this, aren't you?"

Bob's eyes opened and quickly focused on Harry, who was now awake and grinning at him.

Bob grinned back. "I assure you, Harry, it was unintentional ... I was merely amusing myself waiting for you to wake up ... but now that you are awake, may I share the finish?" he asked eagerly.

"Do you *ever* think about anything but sex, Bob?" Harry asked, laughing. Before Bob could answer, Harry continued with "Come here, you ..." in a sexy half growl.

Bob dissolved himself and dove into Harry's body. Harry's arousal was already at a very high level, and it took Bob by surprise. // Oh, god! // the ghost gasped as his psyche adjusted to match Harry's body.

Once he could feel Bob 'settled in,' Harry reached down and opened his fly, freeing his dick from the too-tight space with a sigh. There was a brief 'tug-of-war' as Bob took over his hands; the ghost loved being able to touch Harry, wanted to be the one who 'drove.' Harry relinquished control, happy to just sit back and enjoy the feel of 'Bob's' hands on his body.

By now, Bob knew exactly how to push every button he had, and he pushed them hard this time. He really had been very close to the end, and the physical stimulus was more than enough to take him over the edge in a matter of minutes. He cried out, his cum spurting out in heavy pulses, all over his shirt.

When he could breathe again, Harry looked down across his body at the mess and sighed. "Bob, I swear, *you're* doing laundry this week ..."

Bob ghosted out of Harry's body and reformed standing beside him, trying hard to look repentant. And failing miserably. "Sorry about that, Harry ..."

Harry looked at him and had to laugh. He got up, shaking his head, and trudged up the stairs to change. He came back down a few minutes later.

"So how goes the research?"

Bob frowned. He'd managed to forget about his earlier frustration. "Asian languages are so difficult to translate, Harry. So many of their 'words' have multiple meanings depending on the inflexions given, and that doesn't always translate into writing all that well."

Harry gave him a sympathetic look. "Well, I need to take the amulet over to Murphy. I'll ask her to do some internet searches."

Bob nodded. He'd rather translate it himself, but if there was a starting place, it might help. "All right, Harry," he admitted with a sigh.

Harry's mind flashed back to the dream ... for once it hadn't been about Bob. It had been Murphy. And it had been pretty hot. He knew Bob was quite taken by Murphy, and he was pretty sure it had been Bob 'driving' his dream.

"Speaking of Murphy ... were you thinking about her earlier? When I was dreaming?"

Bob found himself oddly embarrassed to admit it for once. Perhaps because she was a real, flesh-and-blood lady. Emphasis on the *lady* part. It didn't feel right to 'kiss and tell,' as it were. But he knew he couldn�t lie to Harry.

"She stopped by while you were at lunch. We chatted a while ... I ... yes, I was thinking about her."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You've got it bad, don't you?"

Bob sighed. "Harry, I haven't had a real, live woman friend in five hundred years. I ... find her delightful. I can't help it." He looked at Harry hopefully. He wasn't sure yet, but perhaps this dreaming had warmed Harry to the idea somewhat.

"I guess I can't blame you for that," Harry said with a half smile. "She is pretty special ..."

"Indeed she is, Harry."

"In fact, I need to get that necklace back to her. When she left, did she say where she was going?"

"She got a call from somebody she called 'Kirmani' or something like that and had to rush off."

Harry frowned. "Kirmani's one of the detectives she works with. He's a bit of a jerk. Doesn't like me one bit."

"Well, then, he can't be much of a detective if he can't even detect that you're one of the good guys ..." Bob offered drily.

"Ha, ha." Harry ignored Bob's chuckle and headed for the phone, dialing a number he knew by heart.

"Murphy."

"Hey, Murph, it's Harry. Listen, I've got that amulet we talked about last night. Can you stop by after work and pick it up?"

Murphy sighed. "Can't do it, Dresden. Karrin's sitter can't come tonight. And besides, I need to get her packed up; she's going to her father's for spring break."

"Oh. OK. Um, you going to be there at the station for a bit? I could come over and drop it off. It's just that the sooner we 'activate' it, key it to you, the better it'll work."

"Yeah, sure. I should be here for another hour or so. Unless something weird happens out there ..."

"And if it does, I want you wearing this. I�m serious, Murph."

She could hear the concern in his voice. It touched something deep inside her. "Thanks, Harry ... I appreciate it. I'll see you in a bit then."

"OK." Harry hung up the phone. He went back to the lab and retrieved the necklace. Before he could leave, Bob interrupted him.

"Harry? Weren't we going to key the wards to the necklace so the next time she comes by we don't have to chat out on the street?"

That surprised Harry; he guessed he hadn't thought about where that conversation had taken place. "You went outside?"

"Just outside the door. I have done it before, Harry, when you've been gone a long time. It can get awfully boring at times ... sometimes I'll slip out when nobody's coming then just watch the people bustling around. I always make sure nobody sees me doing anything ... odd."

"Huh!" These past weeks he'd seen more of Bob's life than ever before, and it humbled him sometimes to realize what the poor guy put up with on a daily basis just because he was a ghost. Harry had never given a thought to what Bob did with his time when Harry wasn't around.

"Sorry about that, Bob ..." he said softly. "Another thing I never really thought about."

Bob could see how much this revelation affected Harry from the look on his face. He smiled softly at Harry, reaching his hand out as if to touch Harry's cheek. "Don't worry about it, Harry. I am used to it after all this time. But it would be nice to at least have one other friend ..."

Harry nodded. "Sure." He reached out and called his hockey stick staff to him. Placing it firmly on the ground in front of him, he sent out his magic to 'activate' his wards, his security system. The room glowed with a golden light from the magical symbols embedded in the structure of the place.

Harry placed Murphy's necklace on the top of his desk and concentrated, the image of a key opening a lock firmly in his mind. When he had it in place, he released a pulse of magic from the staff. A globe of golden light emerged from the tip and settled over the necklace, enveloping it.

Satisfied, Harry pulled back his energy, and the 'light show' faded. He picked up the necklace and could feel another 'layer' of magic tingling from it.

Walking over to the door, he replaced the hockey stick in its usual place and grabbed his jacket, tucking the precious package into a pocket. "Be back in a bit," he called over his shoulder to Bob as he dashed out the back door to his jeep.

Bob frowned after him. He'd been hoping to 'ride along' with Harry to deliver the necklace. But he supposed Harry was right; Connie didn't know about their ability to share a body. No need to frighten her by suddenly springing it on her. But he had *so* wanted to be there to give her their gift ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry made his way through the maze of cubicles at the Chicago PD headquarters building. He drew some hard glances as he passed by; many of the cops there knew him by sight now, and most of them didn't trust him. Finally he found the one he was looking for.

Murphy sat at her desk, typing up a report of the incident Kirmani had dragged her into earlier. It had been a simple case, something Kirmani should have been able to handle on his own. But no, he'd dragged her away from her enchanting conversation with Bob ...

"Hey, Murph, got a minute?"

She looked up to see Harry standing over the edge of her cube, an eager smile on his face.

"Sure, Dresden." She got up and led him to a conference room, ignoring the look Kirmani gave them. As she closed the door behind them, Harry got the necklace out of his pocket.

Murphy looked at it. "Doesn't look any different."

Harry nodded. "Wouldn't. But I think it'll feel a bit different, even to you." He held it out, and as Murphy took it she felt ... something. A tingle, almost an electrical charge.

"Yeah ... just for a second there ..."

Harry nodded and took it back from her. "Here, let me." He stood behind her, taking the ends of the necklace in his hands as she lifted her hair out of the way. As Harry closed the clasp, he infused one last pulse of energy into it, binding it to her.
Murphy felt *something* interesting as Harry put the necklace on her. As he let go and the chain settled around her neck, she felt a sense of security wash over her. Maybe it was all in her mind, she knew this was supposed to be a 'protection' spell, but she felt it, emotionally and physically.

"Thanks, Harry," she said more softly than usual, turning around to look at him.

Harry smiled. He knew she was feeling the effects of a very personal enchantment. "You're very welcome. I really should have done this a long time ago, Murphy. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it. It won't protect you from bullets or anything like that, although your 'luck' at avoiding them will probably be pretty good. But anything from my world that tries to attack you won't have an easy time of it."

Murphy nodded. "It's funny ... I fought so long to deny that 'your' world existed. But it really does at least provide some answers. And I guess knowing is better than not knowing."

"For some people. Some never want to know, Murphy. Not just about magic, but the truth about anything. Some people just live in their own little worlds and hope the rest of the world will just ignore them."

She shook her head. "I've never understood that."

Harry smiled. "That's why you're a cop. You *need* the answers."

"You may have something there, Dresden." She finally smiled again.

"Listen, Murphy ... I've kind of got a favor to ask."

She raised one eyebrow cautiously. "What kind of favor?"

"You know me and computers ... my magic just fries them. I need some internet research, and I was hoping we could get you do it?"

"We?"

Harry felt himself blushing. "Me and Bob ..."

That really got her interest. The way Harry was reacting, her initial theory had been correct. "What does a ghost need with internet research?"

Harry sighed. He should have taken the time to figure out a 'cover story' to explain why they wanted this. But he realized that he couldn't lie to Murphy anymore. Wouldn't. He wondered how she would take this.

"We're ... looking for a way to make him human again, or at least give him a solid, real body so he can experience the world."

Murphy gave him a *look*. "Oh. And you think you're going to find that on the internet?"

Harry shrugged. "We've got a lead. An old legend, Chinese or Japanese, something oriental. Bob's having trouble translating it. We wondered if somebody else already had done the translation."

Murphy hmmmed. "OK, might be able to turn up something. What's the clue?"

"T-s-u-k-a-t-a" Harry spelled it out as Murphy grabbed a tablet and wrote it down.

She nodded. "I'll see what I can find."

Harry smiled at her � that had gone much easier than he'd expected. "Thanks, Murphy. Bob will really appreciate it too."

At his mention of the ghost, it was Murphy's turn to smile and blush slightly. "He really is very sweet. I can't believe you've been hiding him all these years."

Harry shook his head sadly. "I've only recently realized how much I've been taking him for granted ..."

Murphy saw an opportunity to dig a bit. "You really care about him a lot, don't you?"

Harry closed his eyes and nodded. "You have no idea ... he's all the family I've got left, Murph."

She cocked her head to one side. "But it's more than that, isn't it?" she pressed.

Harry's eyes opened and he looked at her, searching. But he found he wanted to answer her.

"Yeah," he said softly. "How did you know?"

Murphy smiled gently at him. "Who's the detective here, anyhow? You've been giving off clues since that night in the bar when you had a fight with 'somebody special.'"

Harry groaned. Murphy laughed softly. "Don't worry about it, Dresden. Doesn't matter to me that you're in love with a 500 year old ghost ... in fact, I can kinda sympathize. If he were 'alive' he could sweep me off my feet in about 15 seconds."

Harry had to laugh at that. "He likes you too, Murphy. He hasn't had a 'girlfriend' in 500 years."

Murphy grinned. "So maybe if you make him human, I could borrow him for a night or two?"

Harry suppressed a groan. He was in trouble here. Bob had it bad for Murphy. Murphy had it bad for Bob. And Harry ... Harry was about to get caught in the middle.

Somewhere way back in the dim corners of his mind, a tiny voice observed that the middle might be an awfully *nice* place to be ...

Jealousy warred with fascination at the idea. For the moment, Harry managed to plaster a smile on his face. "You'll have to talk to him about that ..."

Murphy could see the gears turning in Harry's brain before he answered. She'd have to be careful. She really did like Bob, but Harry had been her friend for a long time. She wouldn't 'cut in' on him. But that didn't mean she couldn't be Bob's friend too. And she'd gotten the impression that the ghost really needed that. Friendship. Somebody to talk to. Which reminded her ..

"Harry .. you guys mentioned something about getting me a key? I stopped by this afternoon, but the place was locked."

Harry welcomed the change of subject. "Yeah, Bob mentioned it. I didn't know he went outside like that when I wasn't around!"

Murphy laughed. "Yeah, he kind of startled me when he came right through the door."

Harry nodded. "Murph, I do appreciate you being his friend. I never realized how lonely he got all day when I was gone."

The look on Harry's face tugged at Murphy's heart. He really blamed himself for taking Bob for granted. She reached out and touched Harry's arm. "Hey, Harry, go easy on yourself. You know now, and you're making a difference, right?"

Harry was a bit surprised by Murphy's touch. Somehow by opening his heart to Bob, he seemed to have learned how to open himself to Murphy too. It was weird ... but nice. He smiled.

"Yeah, you've got a point ..."

Murphy nodded, gave his arm a little squeeze then let go. She was also surprised at how much her relationship with Harry was changing now that he'd decided to let her in to 'his' world. It was a little scary, still, but Harry .. and Bob ... were worth the risk.

But there were still limits, and it felt like they'd reached theirs for today. "Listen, Harry, I've got to get that report done before I can go home, so ..."

"Yeah. You do that, Murph." Harry was relieved that moment had not gone on too much longer.

"I'll call you when I have something on this 'tsukata' thing."

"Great. Thanks, Murph." His eyes carried a much deeper thanks than the simple words implied. "Oh, the necklace will act as your key. Kind of like a magnetic lock. The wards will detect it and let you in."

She nodded, smiling, and headed back to her desk. Even Kirmani's whining couldn't ruin the rest of her afternoon.

continue to Chapter 5

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Chapter 4