Thanks for the loyal support Lonerboi! I wonder if everyone else's review buttons aren't working… ;-)

This should actually be two separate chapters, but I figure I might as well put them together. And also, I flyplanesIRL so I use a lot of pilot-ish terms, so if you don't understand a term I used, then just asks what it means in a review and I'll answer it.

Disclaimer: Plot and chars are mine. Blizzard stuff is theirs.

Chapter 6: Good Intentions, Bad Results

"Hell and back, boys! Into hell and back with your hairy arses!" yelled Erika through the intercom.

"Boo-Yah!" was the reply from a few Atlas'

Thousands of wraiths were hurtling down like a tidal wave upon the waiting wall of zerg that was in front of them. The zerg were screeching war cries in the void of space. The wraith's engines were roaring in reply. Behind the wraiths were thousands of battlecruisers; while behind the zerg were the thousands of overlords, and guardians. In between the two was Vega, an elegant blue sphere, usually surrounded by luxurious orbital resorts. Now it was being orbited by the debris of the defense fleet. The surface was scorched in the northern hemisphere with the flames of battle.

The force of wraiths and mutalisks closed within weapons range and the space burned with green and yellow. The superior speed of the wraiths made them whiz through the cloud of zerg and hurtle directly towards the defenseless guardians and overlords. The battlecruisers that took up the rear were ripping through the ranks of the mutalisks and in turn they received volley after volley of gluv wurm to bounce on their hulls.

Erika and the Atlas' were approaching the defenseless zerg support units at breakneck speed. She let loose with a hail of slugs and bolts and was rewarded with the sight of a guardian being ripped in half. The once nervous Atlas' were now crooning in joy as they received their kills. The overlords were making mad dashes to the surface, in order to land their forces and escape the onslaught of the wraiths.

A pack of mutalisks descended out of hyperspace and engaged the wraiths. Erika broke off her attack pass as mutalisks were saddling up on her six. She wished Tyler was here; she had no wingman. Atlas Three thankfully scattered her pursuers and chased one down. Erika turned towards him and chose a target. It was utter hell trying to keep up in twisty turney fights with these zerg who were much more superior in maneuvering.

At last, Erika's visor lit up as red boxes were drawn around the outline of every zerg in their view. Things would be much easier now; the fleet's science vessel finally had its bioscanner beaming the wraith's targets for them. Erika primed her Gemini missiles and waited for the blessed tone. She kept in pursuit with her quarry through the torrent of the furball. At last the tone came and she let loose with a cry of 'fox one!' The two streaks of grey exhaust smoke streaked towards the mutalisk and turned it into a fireball.

"Splash one!" she yelled, even though no one would hear the cry through all the radio traffic already going on.

The first flight of Atlas' had stuck with her throughout her chase; she had ordered for the flight leaders to take their flights into different tasks. Her task was to cover the Valkerie fighters in their mission to intercept the overlords.

"Atlas squad, this is Longboat squad. We're beginning our attack run on the lead overlords" came a transmission through squad to squad channel so Erika might her them clearly through the maelstrom of traffic on range channel.

"Copy that, Longboat One, we have you in sight and we'll cover your butts" she replied.

The three wraiths in Atlas Flight One turned nose on, through the furball, towards the stream of valkeries that were flying smartly in formation to attack the overlords. Various flights from other squadrons also joined formation beside the valkeries and tore a path for them through the screen of mutalisks.

"Atlas Two, we have a flight of critters looking at us from starboard!" said Longboat One.

"Copy, moving to intercept"

Erika directed the flight to screen the Longboats from the starboard and sure enough multiple mutalisks were seen, clearly heading straight for them.

"Nose to nose!" she yelled to her wingmen.

The mutalisks took no interest in the wraiths, but instead sent their wurms flying straight for the valkeries. Atlas Two, Three and Four replied with their volley of missiles and ripped the offending mutalisks to pieces.

"Splash two and three!" yelled Atlas Three.

"There's more heading for the Longboats; ten o clock!" said Atlas four.

The wraiths instantly veered to the left and began their missile track on the mutalisks. The mutalisks had a head start and let loose a torrent of wurms towards the valkeries. The valkeries veered off to evade and some were reduced to smoldering fireballs. At last the reply came from Atlas Flight One and the mutalisks were either destroyed or scattered.

"Atlas Flight Two, rejoin formation now, we need more pilots for the cover!" ordered Erika.

"Roger that" came the reply from Atlas Five.

The wraiths from the other squads in front continued to plow the road for the valkeries as the ones off to the side constantly scrambled to intercept any offending pockets of zerg that threatened the valkeries. The overlords were nearing the atmosphere now, they couldn't be allowed to drop off their forces; the UED forces on the ground were overwhelmed as it was.

Back in the main body of the UED fleet, the battlecruiser's guns were firing non-stop. The captains would hold their ships smartly in formation as the pressured helmsmen would struggle to keep their gigantic lumbering ships in place throughout the rain of the wurms on the hull. Inside the protective shell of the battlecruiser's guns were thousands of dropships, each overflowing with stimmed up infantry and fully loaded machines of war. They were the cavalry; the much needed relief forces for the overwhelmed forces on the surface. But the zerg overlords had a head start on them; the valkeries needed to take them out so that the dropships could land their troops first.

"Atlas squad, we're in range to party, get you planes out of the line of fire" said Longboat One and Erika ordered for her pilots to get away from the valkeries' front quarter.

The flood of rockets that the valkeries let loose was dazzling. Instantly there were millions of rockets that illuminated the space around them with their streaks of blue plasma. The overlords were left utterly helpless. The overlords and any unfortunate mutalisks that lay in the path of the missiles were instantly atomized. The pilots cried out in victory in range and squad channel alike. Even Erika joined in the cheering. The only downside of the whole thing was that most likely the valkerie pilots would only get half of the kills they deserved, due to the difficulty of having to confirm all the kills that they really got.

"Would 'ya look at that! That just made my day! Thanks for the support, little friends. We'll be fine from here" said Longboat One.

Erika gave the order for a free-for-all since their task was complete. Instantly, the eager Atlas pilots divided into two's (pilot and wingman) and flew off to the furball and earn their lightning bolts. Erika grinned; she had no wingman, so she could have all the kills to herself. She decided to zip back to the fleet of battlecruisers and pick off a few zerg there. She primed her missiles and gunned the throttle. She ripped through the dance of lasers and mutalisks and smoothly let loose her missiles. A mutalisk cried out in pain as it was ripped in half.

As she landed on another ones six and fired burst after burst of slugs at it, she noticed that the dropships were now glowing in orange as they entered the atmosphere. She grew worried; Tyler was headed to Vega to visit Jia. They were down there somewhere and she hoped they were alright. She shook it off and laughed; Tyler would always be alright. She would bet her life that at this moment Tyler was in some wraith and getting kill after kill in the atmosphere. The thought reassured her and she promptly blew off the wing of the mutalisk she was chasing.

Erika was half-right; in the atmosphere, Tyler was in a wraith, however, he was far from alright. He was kicking up dust as he pushed his wraith to the limit ten feet above ground. All around him, green gluv wurms were whizzing past him in attempts to bring him down. He was being chased by ten mutalisks and he was on the deck and running for his life. All around him, the reserve pilots on Fort Pollux were dropping like flies. As they buzzed past the garrisons of the ground forces, the idle marines at the rear would take pot shots at the zerg in attempts to help the lone wraith, to no avail, of course.

The missile turrets could be seen in the distance. Tyler prayed that they were not offline. Another fifteen wurms that tickled his ventral wing forced him out of his pointless prayer and got him back on concentrating on staying alive. He was nearing the turrets by the second, he could make it! As he neared he noticed something else on the ground. It was a sea of violet; they were the ground forces of the zerg. They instantly turned and peppered Tyler's path with acidic spikes and forced him to veer off course. His left wing lit up in holes as some spikes managed to hit him in his starboard break turn.

The pursuing mutalisks jumped on the event of Tyler's turn and lead him in his turn and instantly gained tons of ground on him. His damaged wing made his wraith even slower and another hail of wurms went flying towards him. It was no use now; those wurms would inevitably come into contact with his wraith if he kept running. He must turn and fight to the death!

He came around nose on with the waiting mutalisks and they grinned their horrible grins in reply. He vowed he'd wipe those stupid smiles off their faces soon enough. At that thought he hesitated. He was thinking about Jia again! He forced his mind to focus, but he was too late, his chance at a head on shot had passed and he desperately tugged his stick to evade the wurms.

The mutalisks turned on a dime and came at him once more. Five on them climbed above him so as to mock him. He cursed at himself. He couldn't get Jia out of his head. She was like a parasite, draining the life force out him by the second, and would ultimately cause him to fall to the ground in a fireball. He shook his head violently to get him to focus. He must climb and rope the zerg that were level with him.

He pulled up gently to bring his wraith ninety degrees nose up and not waste too much speed in doing so. The mutalisks stupidly followed him in the climb. They obviously didn't have any clue to what Air Combat Tactics was. They mindlessly pursued him and the five that were above him simply circled, not knowing that at least three of their comrades would die.

Tyler loved atmospheric dogfights; he loved using the all mighty gravity to his advantage. Soon, all the air had escaped the wings of the mutalisks and they lost their much needed lift. They stalled and leveled off as they struggled not to plummet to the ground. Tyler had timed the event of his own stall just right. He nosed down at his stall and, sure enough, the struggling mutalisks were helpless before his guns. He let loose with a burst of slugs and two of them fell pray. As he yawed his craft to draw a solution on his next victim, his mind drifted to the memory of the time he had demonstrated this move to Jia.

It was torture! He had missed his chance to kill another one due to his distraction! He must get her out of his mind if he was to survive. The five mutalisks that were taunting him from above had swooped down to chase him as their surviving comrades were regaining their speed. Tyler strained to think of something to get them off his tail. They wouldn't fall for the rope anymore, and he was running out of time. Instantly he remembered that they were diving on him. He must switch tack and play the turn fighter while the mutalisks would be forced to use unfamiliar energy tactics.

He brought his wraith into a distorted barrel-roll and the mutalisks, still completely ignorant of ACM, stupidly overshot and flew passed him, before turning around again. They were extremely stupid; they had the perfect opportunity to regain altitude and speed after they overshot and play cherry-pick with Tyler. Instead they had blown it all away and turned straight nose on to him.

Ah, there was nothing like the power of the human mind. These creatures could not comprehend the sheer concept of Air Combat. Tyler smirked as he realized that his task would be easier than he thought. His opponents had given up their energy advantage. They were letting Tyler step into the realm of energy fighter, instead of forcing him to remain the turn fighter, where his wraith would pose no match against the far more maneuverable mutalisks.

Tyler evaded the head on pass of the mutalisks and climbed above them, his thrusters burning white hot flames behind him. Again, the mutalisks tried to follow. Tyler was stumped; didn't they learn their lesson after being roped once? He took the opportunity to kill a few more out as they stalled again. After he had blown passed them, he turned to regain his altitude once more. They had finally learned their lesson; instead of following Tyler directly in his climb, they climbed gradually, parallel to his course.

As Tyler rested on his perch above his opponents his mind drifted again. He lost track of what he was doing as he was reminded of Jia once more; the hotel where they had stayed last night was visible. He could see cannons and heavy machine guns poking out of the windows which indicated that the building was garrisoned. He remembered the night when he was almost going to be inside Jia in one of those rooms.

Damn it! It happened again! Memories of Jia had cost him precious seconds! The mutalisks on his tail had traversed half the distance to Tyler's altitude. He banged his fist on his helmet in frustration. He could have easily downed every one of them as they were climbing up to him. Now, they were too near, and it was too risky to descend to try and pick a few off now. He decided he could drag them to the hotel and hope that a marine would spot him and order the guns to scatter the mutalisks.

He waited a bit more, circling the mutalisks in order to mock them into pursuit. Finally they dashed towards him and he gunned the throttle towards the hotel. Soon the windows lit up as the guns fired a shower of bullets towards the mutalisks. They were excellent shots; five of the six remaining mutalisks were torn to shreds. Tyler veered around at the mutalisk that survived and was now running away. He closed on target and armed his burst laser; he wanted to give the marines in the building a light show. The mutalisk turned its head around to look him in the face. Its eyes were looking at him with evil hatred, no fear or emotion as death approached it. It was just the same way Jia's eyes had looked when he left her under the care of the General in command of Pollux….

Not again! Thankfully his mind hadn't wandered too far; he still had ample time to draw a firing solution, but he was only fifty yards from immenent collision with the mutalisk. He yawed his craft with lightning fast reflexes and his crosshairs were filled with the orange figure of the mutalisk. He plugged with the trigger at the last second and the blast had ripped the mutalisk apart right before Tyler had collided with it.

He let out a sigh of relief. He powered down his laser to recharge it and flew for a fly-bye of the hotel. He performed an aileron roll and flashed his wingtip lights in thanks to the marines inside. He saw a flare shoot out of the roof in acknowledgement.

Tyler berated himself for having his mind wander so many times in the engagement. He was having a hard time focusing ever since their fight in the car. He hated not having control of himself. He knew he must find away to get rid of the distractions, whether he loved her or not.

He wondered what he was going to do now. The district he was supposed to cover had already been overrun (obviously) and his detachment of reserve pilots from Pollux were all dead. He decided to RTB to Pollux; he was in dire need to refuel and repair anyway. He flew low to the ground, so as to avoid the furball at high altitude. He could see the dropships entering the atmosphere from his cockpit. They were headed to the main HQ on Vega, which was under heavy attack last time Tyler had checked. Some of the dropships would definitely be on the way to the lesser bases, like Pollux, to give reinforcements and to pick up the wounded. Jia would probably one of the people to be moved out.

If the dropships could get into the atmosphere it meant that the space battle was faring well. Jia would be safe on her way out. Tyler sighed; he would never see her again. He wondered if he should even wish her a good-bye and good luck….

Jia was looking at nothing except the insides of her hands. She wasn't making a sound, nor moving an inch. She was sitting silent and alone in the mess hall with her face in her hands. Outside, the wraiths that had come from the space battle were landing. It had fared well; the zerg space forces were decimated while the UED had lost only fifteen cruisers, two hundred valkeries, and six hundred wraiths. A few squadrons were to land here and rearm while the commanders would decide whether they were needed in the relief operation for HQ.

Jia could hear the approaching footsteps of the tired pilots coming to the mess hall. She didn't want them to come in, she wanted to be alone, but to go back to the solitude of her quarters meant moving, and she didn't want to that either.

"It was McLaren and Hobes that went down, ma'am" said a voice after the hiss of the double doors opening had passed.

"A shame…" said a familiar voice of a girl.

"Get the rest of the squad fed and rested. Make sure that the wraiths are repaired and rearmed in the next hour. Have Chevskey know that he's the new flight lead for Flight Two and tell him to get the report done" said the girl again.

"Yes, ma'am" said the other and footsteps were heard indicating he had left.

Jia didn't bother to look up as the sounds of the girl getting her food were heard. The clattering of plates and glasses were echoes in the distance. Jia absent-mindedly wondered where the rest of the pilots were. This girl was obviously the CO of one squadron, and the pilots were obviously still at debriefing, or in the enlisted men's mess hall. Jia had been kindly granted permission to stay in the officer's mess, since the General had sensed her sadness.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped abruptly.

"Jia?" said the voice of the girl. Jia didn't want to look up and didn't. She heard the girl take a seat opposite of her.

"Crikey! It is you!" said the voice again. Jia recognized who it was; there were only two people she knew that had a British Accent like that.

"Ahn-nyong, Erika" she said, weakly, and without looking up.

"What's wrong, Jia?" she asked, concerned. Jia didn't want to use her vocal chords anymore.

"…Where's Tyler?" said Erika at length. Jia shrugged.

Erika remained silent. She knew something was seriously wrong. She had hoped for a rest after the space battle, since she had been ordered to report to Pollux, but instead she had another thing to worry about and she knew that prying Jia about it would not help. She, instead, ate her meal silently.

"Ma'am" said Kimble, the lone lieutenant of Atlas squad, once he had approached and saluted Erika after she had finished her meal.

"The wraith's are fueled and loaded. Sergeant Chevskey is writing his report now" he said

"Orders from command?" she asked

"Yes, ma'am; we're to wait for the return of the Major and then remain stationed in here and await the Clarkson for more orders" he reported.

"Where did the General send the Major?" she asked

"Major Munroe was sent along with the reserve pilots here to try and give air cover to the 556th in the northern district"

"Very good. Thank you, Lieutenant" she said. Kimble saluted and left.

Erika looked back at Jia, who still hadn't moved an inch throughout the whole time. Erika was done eating and had no where to go in the Fort; she was forced to remain seated awkwardly opposite of Jia.

"Jia…" she said; she couldn't take the awkwardness any more.

"Tyler broke up with me" she said flatly through her hands, without looking up. It took Erika a whole five seconds to realize what Jia had said.

"What?" she said, dumfounded. Jia didn't move.

"Bloody hell!" she said, realizing the truth.

"This is 'Aries' requesting permission to land" said Tyler; since he had no official designation he used his callsign.

"Permission granted, 'Aries'" replied Flight Control.

Tyler guided his wraith absent-mindedly back in the hangar. His wraith jolted to a stop as the hangar magnets held him in place. His thrusters pivoted downward to allow him to hover. He flashed his wingtip lights and the magnets deactivated. He idly glided to the vacant pen in the hangar. He hopped out and landed lightly on his feet once the mechanical arms had secured his wraith on the hangar bulkhead.

He saw that there were wraiths populating the hangar now. A squadron from the space battle must have landed here for rearming. He caught sight of a lieutenant who was standing at attention by the entrance to the hangar. As Tyler approached, the lieutenant saluted.

"Atlas squadron, reporting, Major!" said the lieutenant.

Tyler only registered half of what the lieutenant said. Atlas squadron was the squadron he had been assigned to, but what major was this person talking about? Tyler spun around in fear that a Major was probably behind Tyler. Suddenly the familiar face of Erika pushed her way in front of the lieutenant.

"You're dismissed, Lieutenant" she said and turned to Tyler.

The lieutenant left and Tyler was left in a state of confusion.

"What Major?" he said at last.

"You major" she said, impatiently "We've been promoted" she said, even more frustrated.

"Jolly good…" he said at length, unaware of what was pestering his sister. She still stood there, in front of him, arms crossed, and she was wearing a stare that could kill a man.

"Bloody hell! What is it?" he said, getting impatient himself.

"Don't be cheeky with me, bro! You've the one with the nerve to break up with Jia!" she yelled back. Tyler looked down in frustration and shame.

"What the hell were you thinking? She's torn apart because of you!" she scolded.

"What else could I do? You think she's fine falling in love with a bloody idiot like me who risks his life everyday?" he yelled back in defiance.

"What's wrong with you! She already has fallen in love!"

"Exactly why I had to end it! She's going to go mental if she stays with me"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"How would you feel if the man you loved kept rushing head first into battle every day and night?" that kept Erika silent for a while.

"You think it was easy for me?" he continued "I loved her too, you know!"

"Loved?" she said, her face twisted in disgust "You're not yanking my chain, bro. You still love her! Don't be a noble arse!"

"Listen, 'sis; I 'aint in the bloody mood, ok?"

"No, it's not okay. You're killing her!"

"What makes you think it'll be any different if we didn't break it up, eh?"

"Because then she'll be with you! You've gone barmy, I say!"

"Blast it! Erika, this can't work out!"

"What make you so sure?"

"She's fifteen years old, damn it! She has her whole life waiting for her. She will find someone else"

"And where the hell will she find someone? Her school is botched, her home is botched - her blooming life is botched! You're all that's left and you're cocking it up!"

"This war can't last forever; it'll end and she can on with her life. The life she deserves." He explained

"She deserves you" she answered back "Give yourself some bloody credit! You're a handsome, talented and strong chap. I'd fancy you if you weren't my brother" she told him. Tyler looked away.

"Who's she 'gonna find that can compete with you?" she asked him "Okay, fine; so let's say she finds some Korean bloke and goes the down the isle. You think she'll ever forget you, her first love? Do you think that she won't lie awake at night, wondering where you are and what you're doing? You honestly think that she can forget about the sort of an affair like the one you two had?" Erika looked at him for an answer.

"Okay, fine; she won't, I can admit that. But have you ever thought of what she'll go through if she stays with me? She'll be ripped apart. She'll still stay awake at night and wonder if I'm still alive and shit. At least if she's with someone else she'll have someone to comfort her on those lonely nights. There are tons of men out there who can be more caring and stuff than me"

"You're fooling yourself. Jia is a strong girl; you've said it yourself. She can handle herself as long as she knows that she's yours"

"Are you sure of that? What happens if that's not true? I can't watch her fall apart because of me"

"She's falling apart because of you right now"

That was all Tyler could stand. He lost his composure and turned his back on his sister. The world seemed to be against his decision, but it was the only way. The alternative would be selfish on Tyler's part, and it would never last in the long run. Tyler just wanted all of it to end. He wished he never saw Jia standing in the courtyard that day. He wished that she had never seen him play his guitar in front of the Flight Academy. He wished he had died on the Tamerlane, and he wished that his heart would just stop pestering him.

Erika bit her lip in regret that she had done this to her brother. In all her life she had never seen Tyler take the coward's way out from an argument. She knew that it was torture for him to have to discuss a topic as touchy as that, but she must keep him from destroying himself. Erika had seen how the two of them clicked together. Erika had never thought possible that a relationship like the one Tyler and Jia shared could exist at such an early age, but for a year and a half she had witnessed it right in front of her. And now her brother was throwing that away, for some noble rubbish.

"I'm sorry, bro" she said, softly "I know this hurts, but I just can't let you make the biggest mistake you'll ever make in your life"

"I know it's a bloody mistake and I know that I'll never be the same, but it's Jia that I'm worried about"

"Tyler, she's a strong girl"

"If this is the way she reacts to a break up, then how will she react if I get downed?" he asked.

Erika had to think for a few seconds to respond to that.

"When you first saw her on Vega… she thought you were dead; more than half the Tamerlane's crew had bit it. So with that in mind, tell me, honestly, was she in sixes and sevens about it in her apartment?"

That sentence made Tyler gulp.

"I didn't think so" said Erika after Tyler remained silent "She wasn't tearing herself up, was she? She was sitting fine and composed in her apartment. Why? Because her last memory of you was a good one, and if you leave her like this, she'll always remember you as the person who turned down her heart"

"We've been through thick and thin, bro. You've never gone as messed up as you are right now. Doesn't that tell you something?"

"You still can't say that she won't be broken-hearted if I get downed out there" replied Tyler.

"Yes, she will be broken-hearted. But, bro, take in the big picture here; you're not the only person in the service that has a civilian sweetheart. There are thousands of men out there that worry about how their wives will react when the day comes that a bullet comes towards them with their name on it. And still they keep it together, because they know that the possibility of them coming home is what keeps their wives sane"

"Rubbish, Erika. Remember that those wives also break down into a million tears when the mail-man comes with a letter addressed to them from the army"

"That's the way it goes, bro. That's unavoidable, and yes Jia will break down into a million tears if you die, but she'll always know that you died loving her. If you do this" she said, spreading her arms to indicate his actions "then she'll spend the rest of her life longing for you"

"She'll find someone else" repeated Tyler

"Damn it, we're going in circles!" said Erika in frustration.

"Listen, Tye; you're making a mistake, one that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Deep in your heart you know that. I know you care for her and don't want to hurt her, but trust me when I say that she'll be better off if she was in your arms. Trust me on that; I'm a girl also, so I know how she feels. Your intentions are good, I know, but, bro, this isn't going to help you or Jia…" she said, before walking away, leaving her sulking brother alone in the hangar.

Erika fell onto the chair beside Jia, who was still sitting, face in hands, in the mess hall. Since she saw closer to Jia than she did before, she realized that Jia's eyes were red from tears. She could also feel the atmosphere around Jia had a chilling aura about it. She wondered how Tyler could do this.

"Jia…" she said, cautiously shaking her shoulder.

Jia finally emerged from under her hands and looked at her. Her eyes were extremely swollen and her nose was very red. The skin on her cheeks was chaffed and her pale skin left red marks where her hands were holding her face.

"Oh my God…" said Erika, examining her friend.

"What is it!" said Jia in irritation; she wanted to get back to sulking as soon as possible. Her voice was very hoarse; she must have a huge frog in her throat to make that sound.

"I've spoken to Tyler…" she said, soothingly "I know he's making a mistake about this" Jia pursed her lips "Give me time; I can get him to come around soon enough" Jia gulped so as to speak clearly.

"Will you?" she asked

"I'm not going to let him do this to neither you, nor himself" she said.

"Please… promise me you'll get him back to me" she begged.

"I promise, Jia" Jia's eyes watered.

"Cross my heart and hope to die…" continued Erika

"Thank you…" said Jia "I can't go on without him…" she said.

It was pitiful for Erika to watch her friend act so pathetic. She brushed Jia's hair away from her face and hugged her.

"Let's get you cleaned up…" she said.