There was red and he was screaming and sirens drowned his words and the red drowned the sirens and something was crushing her chest and it hurt her ears more than his cries but then he shut up and that was black, made her wish for the noise to distract from all the red. Then she was moving and it was blue

but that was the sky because she was still red. There was poking but that was dull and red blocked it out and she missed the black of the ground because black hid the red but also reminded me of the screaming that had stopped and she was still red but the red had swallowed him so she couldn't tell where he went and the black was fighting red but red was winning and she didn't know who to cheer for and she was still red though she could have sworn she wore grey that morning. But then the black won and it enveloped her in a warm hug.

"Where the hell are the police?" screamed Aster, applying pressure to the wound, trying to slow the bleeding.

Nick had Mr. Frost pinned to the ground, having tackled him the moment after the shot when his attention and second gun were no longer pointed at the other teens.

"Tooth, Sandy, go upstairs and find the police," grunted Nick, applying pressure to arm and back of Mr. Frost to keep him down. "I'll bet the bastard shut the door so they have no clue how to get down here."

Tooth remained frozen and sobbing in the corner in shock.

"Amelia!" shouted Aster in frustration. "So help me I will personally pluck every hair from your head if you do not pull yourself together and get the police."

"Sweetheart," said Nick in a more reasonable tone. "I love you but I'm siding with Aster on this one. Sandy, just drag her if you have to. Jacky needs help."

Sandy began pulling the unwilling girl after him while Aster turned his attention back on the girl lying in front of him, eyes closed.

"Jacky, I need you to open your eyes," whispered Aster, his voice pleading. "Come on, open them."

It was then that he noticed she was not breathing.

"Jacky?" said Aster. "Jacky, this isn't funny! Come on! Open your eyes! Breathe, dammit!"

He took one hand off the wound and began pounding her chest with it, forcing it to rise and fall, willing her to breathe, knowing she wound be bruised but feeling it would be worth it if she lived.

"Come on, Jack! Please!"

Suddenly Jack took a shuddering gasp and the air flowed greedily into her starved lungs. Aster could have cried with relief but settled for soothing her.

"That's right, Frostbite," cooed Aster. "Keep breathing, I've got you."

"H-hurts," whimpered Jack, eyes screwed shut in pain.

"I know, but you have to stay with me, okay? I'm going to fix it but you have to keep breathing. Do you think you can do that for me, mate? Can you keep breathing?"

"Mkay," groaned Jack, her eyes fluttering open and locking on his. "Don't leave…me."

"Never, Jacky."

"We got them!" called Tooth, running down the stairs with the police, some firefighters, and Sandy right behind.

The police went to Nick while the firefighters rushed to Aster and Jack. Aster let them take over but scooted around to put Jack's head in his lap, keeping physical contact at all times as if he were afraid she would slip away again if he were not grounding her to the world.

"What happened?" demanded a paramedic.

"He shot her," said Aster, his eyes still on hers.

"What's her name?"

"Jacky."

"Alright, Jacky, we're going to make you better. The paramedics are on their way. Can you tell me what your birthday is?"

"December," said Jack, her voice soft and fading. "Aster, don't…..don't you let me die…."

"I won't," promised Aster. "You're going to be fine."

"Who are you?" asked the fireman, looking at Aster.

"I'm Aster. Jacky's my best friend."

"We're going to everything we can for her, Aster. Now, can you tell me what happened?"

"That man, the one Nick was sitting on when you got here, he's her father. He threatened to shoot my friends and me and Jacky talked him out of it, so he shot her instead."

"Do you live with them?"

"We live with Tobias Moon, he's our legal guardian. He's on his way home right now."

Then the paramedics arrived and took over. Aster followed them out, never leaving Jack's side. As they walked out of the house, Tobias was parking his car.

"What happened?" Tobias cried, not even shutting his door in his haste. "Jacky! Oh my gosh."

"Are you their guardian?" asked one of the medics as they loaded the young girl into the back of the ambulance.

"Yes, what happened?"

"She was shot. I'm sure the police want to ask you some questions but you can ride with her to the hospital if you want."

"Aster will go with her," said Tobias. "I'll talk to the police and get the other kids. You take good care of her. I shouldn't be more than ten minutes."

"We'll be at Northridge Hospital."

"How is she?"

"I'm not going to lie, it doesn't look good, sir," said the paramedic grimly. "We'll do everything we can."

"Do more. Whatever you have to do, do not let that girl die."

With that, Tobias ran into the house to find to police questioning Nick, Tooth, and Sandy but having a difficult time understanding what Sandy was trying to tell them. Tobias talked to them, answered a few questions, and then stopped.

"Okay, you are welcome to search the house, whatever you have to do, Andy," said Tobias to his friend the police chief. "You can keep questioning the kids and me as well if you need to, but we're relocating to the hospital. Come on, kids, get in the car."

They didn't need to be told twice, sprinting to the car, ready to see their friends. Tobias took a few more minutes to talk to Andy before joining them and speeding to the hospital, praying that Jacky was still alive. He hadn't known the girl for long but had grown very attached to all of his foster kids. She just couldn't seem to catch a break but over the past month especially she had been warming up to him. Even Aster was easing up and letting him talk to Jacky without having to sit next to her.

The hospital smelled strongly of blood, antiseptic, and sweat. Nurses were weaving up and down the halls, doctors entered and left rooms, everyone seemed busy with a task making Nick, Tooth, Sandy, and Tobias stand out like sore thumbs as they stayed in one place for more than a minute. Suddenly, Aster came running down the hall to them.

"She's in surgery," said Aster. "There's a waiting room down here. They won't let me see her but we can wait there until they're done. Come on, follow me."

"I have to fill out the paper work," said Tobias.

"Are you Jack Frost's guardian?" asked a nurse.

"Yes," said Tobias, a tight smile on his face.

"You go with the boy, I'll bring you the paper work. She'll be in there a while."

Tobias nodded and followed the teenagers down the hall. A few nurses nodded to him as he passed, knowing him from around town. Tobias was a rather well known member of society and liked by everyone. The waiting room was quaint, couches pooled together, the walls faded pink, tattered board games piled in the corner, and Aster was forming a rut in the speckled tiles with his pacing. Tobias settled on the couch with the others, filled out the paperwork offered him, and then waited in silence for news of his missing charge.

*I felt bad about the mean cliff I left you all with, so I thought I would make it up to you by updating today instead of waiting. Forgive me?

sakuradancer3- New chapter! No cliff! :)

Darlene10104- I get migraines a few times a month, sometimes several times a week. They are not much fun. I was in a lot of pain yesterday so maybe that's why I had such a mean cliff. Glad you liked the chapter!

MintLeafeon-Well, she got shot...that's what happened.

Qwerty124-Yesssss!

Guest-Magic! Magic will happen now!

Meota Tsukiko- See, the police couldn't find them because of the hidden door. And all shall be revealed eventually.

Magiccatprincess- You will see, (in time).

VectorPrime155-Patience. :)

jesusfreak200-The wait wasn't long at all!

Okay all, a special update just for you. I hope it was worth it! Always-Ari