A/N – I'm really sorry for the long pauses. School has me really busy, but I hope this will help keep you guys satisfied until I can wrap this up. Thanks for all your kind words.

"Pete!, Pete! Are you down here? Did you find her?" Pete looked around expectantly but couldn't see Myka. All of a sudden he heard metal hitting metal and Myka swung open a heavy cellar door. The light and fresh air poured in and Pete sighed in relief. "Myka thank god! The fire is everywhere!"

When Myka's eyes adjusted to the darkness the sight of Claudia in Pete's burnt arms made her wish they hadn't. "Follow me!" Myka helped Pete out of the cellar and in to the fresh air. Pete stumbled as the weight of Claudia started to hit him, the adrenaline that had coursed through his veins was fading as the danger became less. Suddenly, Pete collapsed, landing on Claudia. Artie ran forward, tears streaming down his face as he assessed the bleeding, burnt limbs that lay tangled on the ground. He had already called for an ambulance so all they could do now was wait. Artie sat in silence with Claudia's head in his lap, stroking her hair and Myka sat in a similar position supporting Pete's weakened frame.

Claudia's eyes felt heavy. She tried several times to open them but they would just flicker and close again. Sounds began drifting in. She heard voices and then she recognized them. Artie was berating the doctor for not having enough information and Myka was trying to calm him. They continued to speak, but Claudia couldn't hear Pete. It wasn't like him to not put his two cents in. Claudia forced her eyes open and the sight before her eyes made her want to cry. Pete was asleep in the chair next to her bedside, but he looked like he should be in his own bed and hooked up to every machine possible. Artie noticed Claudia's open eyes and swooped to her side, dancing from foot to foot muttering, but what it was he muttered she didn't know because her head was hurting too much to make the effort to decipher. Myka, much better in crisis, took her hand and asked if Claudia knew where she was. Claudia opened her mouth to reply and a sudden burning sensation in her throat stopped anything more than "unnh" from escaping.

"Don't worry sweetie, you're suffering from smoke inhalation. Your lungs and esophagus were damaged, but you should feel better in a few days." Myka handed her a whiteboard to write with and she placed a purple marker in her hand. Claudia smiled knowing that her favourite colour is hard to find in whiteboard markers. Her smile faded when she saw the hand that held the marker. It was hard to believe that it was the same hand she'd had her whole life. Every finger had cuts and burns covered in sterile white bandages. She couldn't bend her fingers for all the bandaging so her first few efforts at writing looked worse than the so-called artwork she used to present Joshua with before their parents had died.

Is he okay?

"He'll be fine. He insisted on staying by your side even though the doctors didn't want him too. Ms. Frederic came by to check on you two though and then the problem seemed to disappear", the way Myka smiled crookedly as she said this was enough to make Claudia laugh. Unfortunately that meant that pain shot through almost every part of her body. The smothered cry of pain was enough to wake Pete who reached out immediately and squeezed her hand.