A/N: Hey FanFictioners! This is my first story on FanFiction but it's definitely not the last :) This was requested to me on Tumblr (shannii-henderson.(you know the rest;])) and it's only a short story thingo. So please R&R and more importantly; ENJOY! 3 xx
"Everything will be okay, Logan. Trust me. I think I can handle whatever Maddie decides to throw at me," the pretty boy assured, referring to the little girl James had propped up on his hip.
"Yeah, Logie. Everything will be fine. James is very capable of looking after our little princess," Logan's wife, Kayla, agreed.
"I know, I'm just..." Logan started.
"Paranoid?"
"Nervous." Logan finished sending a dirty look in James' direction. "I've never left our only child with someone before."
"It's fine. Don't worry. She loves her Uncle James," flashing his pearly whites at Maddie who snuggled into her uncle's neck, "and she'd be no worse than Carlos and you and I lived with him for how long and he's still alive?"
"Yeah, I guess." Logan sighed. A cool gust of night air brushed past the group, making James' skin prick up with Goosebumps. We best go so you two can get inside before my girl gets too cold."
James nodded and watched as Logan and Kayla both placed another kiss on Maddie's forehead. James shifted positions slightly so he was more comfortable with having the little girl sitting on his hip.
Both pairs said their final goodbyes. Maddie and James waved to the couple as the cars tail lights dissipated into the distance. James lowered Maddie on the cement before holding her hand and walking inside.
"So Maddie, what movie should we watch?"
"BARBIE AS RAPUNZEL! BARBIE AS RAPUNZEL! BARBIE AS RAPUNZEL!" Maddie cheered, jumping up and down before racing back into the house. James laughed and closed the large oak front door behind him. When he entered the living room, he found the little girl snuggled into her Barbie foldout couch on the floor with her Barbie 'blankie' as Maddie likes to refer to it and her Barbie doll perched on the armrest.
"Ah, the Barbie years," James muttered to himself as he plopped down on the couch.
"Uncle James! You forgot to put the movie in!" Maddie stated with a giggle.
"Oh no! I knew I forgot to do something!" James jokingly said and lightly smacks himself in the forehead then got up to put the disk in. When the trailers for other movies started to play, James asked "Do we need anything else?"
"Hot chocolate!" Maddie excitedly shouted, swinging her arms and legs in the air hyperactively.
"Hot chocolate?" James asks, still in the childish tone he always talked to Maddie in.
"Yeah!"
"Okay! Don't let anyone take my seat, though." James joked as he walked into the kitchen, turning on the stove. He retrieved the ingredients he was searching for and created the concoction in order to make hot chocolate the way his mum taught him to.
When the stove had heated, James poured milk into the saucepan and gently stirred it while overlooking the counter and absentmindedly watched the trailer for the Monsters Inc Special Edition DVD.
Once James had felt the milk had heated to an appropriate temperature for Maddie, he poured the milk in both his and her mugs and placed the saucepan in the sink. He stirred the mixtures in both mugs before grabbing them both and heading over to the lounge.
He passed Maddie her mug which was only half filled to avoid spillages but kept a hand towel close just in case. Once the movie's main menu showed, James pressed play and sunk back into the Henderson's lounge.
James awoke to the smell of smoke and a burning sensation surrounding his body.
He groggily opened his eyes. His mouth hung open at the site before him; flames engulfing his best friend's home. He sat there, still in shock at the sight before him, before his instincts took control. His hand flew to his face to try and block some of the heat and the glare of the fire from his eyes. He looked down, in search for Maddie and sure enough, there she was; curled up in a little ball, with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head in between, crying. Just like her daddy, he thought.
"Maddie," James kneeled to the floor, latched an arm around the small girl's waist, wedged his other arm underneath her knees and picked her and her Barbie doll up bridal-style. James stood and searched for a way out. He cautiously shuffled forward. The cracking of wood, linoleum and the roar of the blaze made James' brain switch to high alert. Every move, every sound terrified him, but he had to be brave. For Maddie.
James' mind was transfixed, working on overdrive to get out. With each step, his brain was processing the next, one after another. The intensity of the blaze grew the longer James took. A burning piece of wood lay in his tracks with no way around it. Smoke flooded his lungs and his sight became blurred. His steps became sloppier and without knowing, he stood on a flaming coal. An extreme white pain ran up his leg. He collapsed to the floor, Maddie still weeping in his arms. James found his footing and tried to regain his momentum to get up, get out and get help. He pushed himself off the ground using his elbows but fumbled and fell once again to the floor. Flames danced before his eyes and he curled up around Maddie on his side, using his body as a shield. He bought a hand up to his face and covered his mouth and nose, using his pyjamas as an air filter.
James lungs felt as if they, too, were on fire and with every breath came a cough that ripped his throat apart again and again. He closed his eyes and white shadows danced behind his eyelids. His mouth was desert dry and his hearing faded in and out but he could still hear the growl of the fire which at this point, James thought would claim his life.
James drew in one last breath before lowering his head to the floor in defeat. Everything stopped hurting; there was no throbbing white pain in his leg, no coughs tearing apart his throat, no burning lungs or white shadows, just black. Everything was black.
James woke with a moan. He lay on his back, light shining right into his eyes. He raised a hand to divert the light but hissed in pain when a stabbing sensation paralysed his hand.
"Whoa, careful buddy." A voice from beside sounded.
"Logan?" James asked, vision still blurry.
"The one and only," Logan announced earning a chuckle from James.
James blinked a couple times and when his eyes came into focus, his gaze rested on Logan.
"Hey," Logan greeted.
"Hey," James returned. "Where am I?"
"Hospital, bro." Logan stared at James who was deep in thought.
"Oh no," James eyes growing wide with the realisation of what just had happened. "Logan, is Maddie okay?" James asked, regretting asking as soon as the words hit Logan's hears. But after what seemed to be an excruciatingly long pause to James, Logan answered.
"She's fine. She's enjoying all the attention she's getting, actually." He said casually.
James let out a breath of air he didn't know he was holding. "I'm so sorry about burning your house down. I'll promise I'll buy you a new one and I'll buy all of Maddie's toys and I'll clean it every day. I'll even wear one of those ugly maid's dresses if you really wan-" James rushed, but trailed off when he heard the joyous sound of Logan laughing beside him.
"Dude, chill out. Everything will be okay, James. Trust me. Everything will be okay."
A/N: That was it! I hope you liked it! Stick around for more and feel free to request a story on Tumblr (shannii-henderson.(you know the rest ;])). Please R&R! Love youse! xx