She looked down at the bodies at her feet. The two men who had jumped her in the parking lot as she left the hospital were bleeding from their necks, their heart pumping feebly as they died. She was a trauma surgeon, leaving after her late night shift. They had tried to rape her, but she always carried a knife with her.

She heard a giggle from behind her. She recognized that laugh- Baby Firefly.

"Hey there, Adoria! What're you up to?"

"I...I...I..." She stammered.

"Come on. Let's get you back to my place and get you cleaned up! Ain't got no where else to go, do ya?"

"N...no..."

"Come on, then!"

Adoria had recently moved to Texas after she finished her residency up north. She had gotten a job almost immediately at a hospital near Ruggsville, and stayed in the bunks in the hospital until she could find a place.

She had quickly befriended Baby Firefly when she had brought her Grandfather into the hospital with bronchitis. She was a friendly girl, and very kind to Adoria, often bringing her homemade desserts when her mother made them.

She rode silently in the car with Baby, shaking after the ordeal. She had no idea what to expect at the Firefly home. She knew they were odd people, Baby had explained that to her, and had even confided that they had killed some bad people to make the town safer. But she still had no idea the depths of who they were.

Baby led her in the house and up to the bathroom. "You can go ahead and shower. I'll set some clothes out for you. Just calm down now. You'll be alright. You're home now."

She nodded, extremely grateful.

The warm water felt heavenly on her exhausted body. She had worked a 12-hour shift and then had to fight for her life. Thankfully, she hadn't gotten hurt, but she was tired as hell, and couldn't wait to lie down.

Once she had dried off and put the clothes on that Baby had laid out for her, she opened the bathroom door, immediately colliding with someone.

"Hey!" He grumbled.

She was immediately captivated by him, especially his eyes. They were blood red, with flecks of blue closer to his pupils, and brown flecks closer to the outside. He was ghostly pale, and his hair was almost white. He was shirtless, and he was well-toned and built, thin but muscular. He had blood smears on his chest, though. He had been up to something.

"Baby!" He yelled, not taking his eyes off of her. "Who did you bring home?"

"Oh! A friend of mine! She's gonna stay here now!"

"Oh, fuckin' great." He rolled his eyes, moving to shove past her.

She grabbed one of his belt loops close to his front pockets and pulled him against her. "Where you goin', handsome? Aren'cha gonna introduce yourself?" She loved teasing men like this. Ones that thought they were big and tough. They always got so pissed off.

He laughed. "You ain' nothin' but scared, and you're tryin' to act all tough and seduce me, right?" He shoved her off. "You couldn't handle it, bitch." He stalked back to his room, slamming the door.

About an hour passed. She sat and talked with Baby and relaxed. Eventually, Mother Firefly came into the living room. "Come on, everyone! I made dessert! Let's all sit down and enjoy it together!" She turned and smiled at Adoria. "You too, sweetheart. You're one of this family now."

They all came and sat at the table. She tried her best not to marvel at Tiny, not wanting to be rude. She heard Otis thunder down the stairs and stop dead when he laid eyes on her again. He must have forgotten about her.

"It's okay, Otis. She's family now." Mother Firefly gestured for him to sit down.

He took a seat, avoiding her gaze. She kept an eye on him as they sat together. He ate very slowly, glancing around the table repeatedly. He was a nervous mother fucker. Baby kept glancing at him, as well. She seemed concerned.

"Otis. Relax." Baby rested a hand on his back.

"I'm fine." He snapped, leaning back in his chair.

She helped Mother Firefly clean up the dishes as the rest of the family dispersed.

"Don't worry about Otis." She finally spoke. "He gets nervous around new people."

"Why?"

"Uhm...well...I'm not sure if he'd want you to know or not right now, but you're a part of this family now, so...Otis didn't have a very good life before he came to us...He was very badly abused as a child...It's been a very long time, but you know...that kind of stuff stays with you. He still suffers..."

"Oh..."

"He's very sensitive about it. He doesn't like people to know. Big strong man that he is now, you know." She smiled, sighing softly. "I remember when he first came here. He was so sick, the poor thing. So, so sick. We thought we would lose him. He was so thin, too... You see, he's...had a few bouts of anorexia, here and there...Comes with the territory I guess. But, we nursed him back to health and here he is."

"Hm..." So he was fucked up. That was why he was such a bastard.

"You'll be staying in his room, actually. He needs some company. He's so secluded most of the time..."

When Mother Firefly informed Otis of this, and handed him a stack of blankets and pillows, he seemed bewildered.

"Now you be nice to her, you hear?" Mother Firefly kissed his cheek and started away.

"Ah...You can sleep in my bed. I'll sleep on the floor..."

"Oh. How nice of you." She smirked.

He ripped the tattered orange blanket off of his bed and threw the pillows on the floor in a far corner, tossing the stack of blankets on the bed.

She made the bed and curled up, relishing in the comfort of the mattress. She heard Otis settle, and fell asleep herself.

She had been there for two days, and she heard Otis talking to Baby that afternoon.

"Baby, you gotta let her stay in here."

"What's wrong? You look awful. You ain't been sleepin'."

"No...I can't...I can't sleep with someone in the room with me..."

"That's not dead or tied up, you mean."

"Mm..."

"Okay. I'll bring her over here tonight, to let you sleep."

That night, she slept in Baby's room. She slept in Baby's bed while Baby took to the floor, just as Otis had. At least they were all polite in that respect. She somewhat balked at the fact that Otis couldn't sleep with someone in the same room as him. Was he terrorized that badly as a child? God, she wondered how fucked he was in the head.