A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps by Kit Bryan
Rule 81- When stuck on a problem, pause and come back with fresh eyes, OR obsess over it until you go insane. Your choice!

As we head through the desk area, eyes follow us. I can't help but snort out a laugh.

"Yes, the pizza is for everyone." I call out. Instantly, the cops swarm us and the pizzas get taken from our hands and laid out over several desks. Cups are located for the drinks and the quiet and tense atmosphere of the station transforms to something a little more friendly. I look around but dad hasn't joined in.

"I'm gonna go grab my dad." I tell Ashton and Fin who are busy eating and joking with everyone. They seem to be doing a fairly good job of keeping track of the conversation without my help, and everyone here already knows what they are so I feel fairly confident leaving them unattended. George also is nowhere to be seen, but I suspect that it's probably his turn to be sent home to sleep. I walk away from the cheerful group and make my way to dad's office. As I suspected, dad is there, hunched over some kind of paperwork and rubbing at his eyes and forehead.

"And here I thought that I was tired." I comment from the doorway. Dad jumps and nearly tumbles out of his seat. He definitely didn't notice me.

"Kat?" He looks momentarily confused and shocked to see me.

"What are you doing here?" He asks.

I

"We brought dinner for everyone. But mostly I came to make sure that you aren't working yourself into an early grave. You know you do need to sleep properly sometime and that tiny nap you had this morning doesn't really count. You're no good to anyone if you can't think straight." I remind him. Dad sighs and gets to his feet to pull me into a quick hug.

"I know, but there's just so much to do, and every time I stop I feel guilty, like I should be working because we haven't figured out what happened to Lara yet and I feel like I'm neglecting her if I stop." He sighs deeply again. This show of vulnerability from my dad is pretty rare and is a fairly good sign of just how exhausted he is. My dad doesn't like to show weakness. He lets his eyes drift over me and he frowns even more, furrowing his brow.

"Actually, you look just as tired as I do. Are you doing okay sweetheart?" He asks with narrowed eyes. I shrug.

"I'm alright. It's just been a long week I guess. Ferrying the fae around is fun, but it's definitely more work than I expected it to be." I admit quietly. I'm not sure if Ashton and Fin can hear me from here, but I don't want them to. I'm counting on the noisy cops outside to drown me out. Dad pats me on the shoulder gently.

"I know. But it will all be over soon. They only have one more fae criminal to find and then they'll be leaving and we can have the house to ourselves again." he says with a surprising amount of sympathy. I expected him to be a little more judgemental seeing as I volunteered for the role against his wishes. But no, he just sounds kind and a little concerned. I give him a tight smile but his words don't actually reassure me. Not long until everything goes back to the way it was before. More boring days at work and lonely evenings at home. No fae, no criminals and no Ashton. I force on a cheerful but very fake smile and hook my arm through dad's.

"Come on dad, let's get you something to eat before everyone else eats it all." I drag him through the door and out into the group.

manage to grab a couple of slices of pizza before the ravenous cops eat them all and I settle in at George's desk to eat. He's not here and he won't mind me stealing his chair. Ashton also snatches some random person's chair and wheels it over to sit next to me. Fin is still chatting with people in the corner of the room. Actually... He's chatting with my dad? Seriously, why does my dad like Fin so much and what does he have against Ashton? Dad glances my way and notices Ashton beside me and narrows his eyes in annoyance. Okay, that might be the problem. He can tell that I have a bit of a crush on Ashton and that makes him an enemy purely because my dad is overprotective. I get it, but I have no idea what to do about it. The best thing would be if Ashton could take the time to win my dad over. But since he isn't likely to be here much longer there just really isn't much point in him going to all that effort and dealing with my dad's glare. I don't know that he would even want to.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Ashton asks, causing me to jump. I didn't forget he was there exactly. I'm far too aware of his presence for that. It's more that I feel weirdly guilty, like I've been caught with my hand in the cookie jar because I was thinking about him and how I feel. Again. It's starting to feel like that's all I can focus on these last few days. Ugh, why do feelings make me so stupid?

"Nothing important. I'm just considering what the next few weeks will bring, how long it will take us to find the last criminal, that kind of thing." I answer vaguely. It's not really a lie, I was thinking that before, it's what led to the whole feelings thought process in the first place. Ashton looks thoughtful.

"I am not sure. We do not have a lot of leads to look for the last fae if this situation with your friend turns out to be unrelated." He says hesitantly, glancing at me as if concerned that he's going to upset me. I give him a weak, half smile. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't want to hope that the fae assassin was involved, but it would also make things a lot easier. Should we try looking for other leads in the meantime?" I offer. Ashton shakes his head.

"No, your friend meant a lot to you and you have spent a lot of time helping me. I am happy to help you with the matter involving your friend. Besides, there is still every chance that the fae is involved. We have not received any information about exactly how your friend died. This is probably the best lead that we have." Ashton says gently, watching my face closely for signs of distress.

"Thanks Ashton." I say quietly. Ashton reaches out and takes my hand gently. I glance over to where my dad is still chatting with Fin but he isn't looking at us, and I doubt that he could see anything past the desk anyway. I don't know why I'm being so shy about it. It's not like half the people in this building haven't already seen Ashton carrying me through the reception area and car park.

Eventually the food runs out and the pizza boxes are cleared away. Without the excuse to sit and talk, people slowly start returning to their various tasks. Dad and Fin wander over towards us and dad looks visibly better. Still tired obviously, but having some food and sugar obviously did him a bit of good.

"Fin here was just asking me if there were any updates in Lara's case and I figured I would save him from having to explain it all again in five minutes by telling you all at once." Dad explains. We all head into his office and get comfortable. "So I sent a few people down to check in on the Logan family. The father answered the door and they couldn't see anything wrong with him. They asked about Lara but he claimed not to have seen her and that they definitely hadn't had anyone stop by. So I suppose that she never made it to visit them." Dad sighs and I furrow my brow. Something about that doesn't feel right. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it's sure to drive me insane until I can figure it out.