And there we go. I wanted to take her out to eat, and now we were walking down the street. Covered in ashes and burns on her hands. I hadn't been fast enough to get her out unharmed, but I had been fast enough to get her out alive.

She was quiet, rubbing ashes from her cheeks with a hand and picking at blackened, peeling skin in her arm with the other. I sighed. This wasn't what I meant to do. I had meant to leave the Manor, walk to Olive Garden, eat lunch together in a harmless, pain free way, and then go on a Valentine's Day spree. That is nothing near what it turned out to be.

The blonde female kept her head low, rolling up the sleeve on her other arm to check if she was okay. Sure enough she was, but she winced as her elbow bent; the burn was there.

I took her hand gently and carefully, pulling it to my eyes. The skin was red, but still soft and untouched. I then pulled her closer to examine her arm. The burn wasn't too bad, but the blackened skin has broken. Blood oozed out, but not too much, only little specks slowly popping out.

"Are you feeling okay, Jay?" I ask, my hands slowly ungrasping her arm.

Her jay blue eyes adverted mine, cautiously still glancing at her arm. I sigh, pulling my hand away. She then looked up, straight at my face. Suddenly, her arms wrapped around my neck in a tight hug.

"Bart, I'm gonna be okay." She whispered softly. "Perfectly okay."

********

What happened before all of this is quite the story. Heatwave had come, with his flame gun in hand. Pointed it at the restaurant. And pulled the trigger, setting the building on fire. And, fortunately, we had been inside. We tried to evacuate the building as much as possible, but the flames reached over our heads and burnt our skin. It hurt, but I was determined to get her and I out alive rather then dead.

Her mother helped set that building on fire, along with the rest of the League of Assassins. But they had fled before the fire died down after burning down the building and reducing it to ashes.

We had been stuck inside, behind a flipped over table in the corner that was scorched in flames. The table was heated metal, and the cloth had burned to the ground. Jay's blue eyes were narrowed with determination, but had sparks of fear in them. She searched, pushing away ash piles.

"Jay, stop. I don't want you to burn yourself." I whisper, pulling her close to me.

"I don't want us to die, Bart." Jay hissed, her voice ragged due to the smoke now in her throat as it billowed from the bright orange flames.

"We won't." I say quietly, arms wrapped tightly around her waist. "The firefighters will come."

She shook her head, dismissing the idea as she pulled herself away from me. Her arm hit the fire, and she helped in surprise and pain, pulling her arm away quickly. She waved her arm, causing the flame to disappear.

Cries for help sounded a further distance away. She poked her head up, peering her head around the burning flame. A young child was huddled in a chair, her back pressed against the wall. I struggled to get out from behind the table, only to burn my leg. I grit my teeth, but I couldn't show weakness in front of Jay. Not a chance.

I pushed my way out, struggling further out into the scorching hot area. The flames hissed as water splashed on them from above, and I pulled the girl from the chair and into my lap.

"Hey, hey, hey.... It's okay.... Where are your parents?" I whisper, but then by the girl's crestfallen expression, I realized it was the wrong question to ask as she pointed to burnt people, lifeless and limp. Looking around for my blonde best friend, I spotted her with champagne bottles in hand as she threw them at the ground, trying to exterminate the fire.

"Jay! Wine burns!" Jay then blinked, then hissed in pain as flames started to burn her legs. "Jay, run!" I yelled, and she shook her head.

"Not without you!" She yelled back, her hands pointed out palms up to me, and I rested the girl in her arms as I picked Jay up and sprinted out.

"The girl's parents died...." I say quietly as we stand outside.

"Then we send her to an orphanage, a foster care. Something." Jay frowned, still carrying the young brunette in her arms.

"We can't do that!" I shook my head instantly. "You know foster care is not a good idea."

Jay cringed slightly as the brunette cried in her arms, and I wasn't sure if it was the foster care comment or the little girl crying.

"Then what?" Jay's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she thought, and the brunette girl simply wrapped an arm around Jay's neck as she sucked her thumb.

I sigh, taking the brunette from Jay. "What's your name?" I ask the young girl.

"A-Acacia." She whispered, sniffling as her hand clenched at my half burnt shirt. She was very light for a six year old, and I looked around.

"Acacia, do you have any siblings?" Jay asked and she shook her head, rubbing her nose on my chest.

Jay then gave me the look that said, Let's take care of the problem ourselves, and I knew instantly what that meant. She wanted to take care of the child herself. With me.