AzulaTano: I like to think Douglas just likes kids. He spent years obsessively trying to get his own back, right?

And the sword is vital. :P But I'm not telling you why just yet.

Shades of X: :3 Thank you so much!

Guest: Thank you. :3

Ysthry?

"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."


"Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


"Generosity is not giving me that which I need that you do, but it is giving me that which you need more that I do."

Kahlil Gibran, Sand and Foam


Adam

A few hours after they arrived and Mr. Davenport had said he was doing something to help, he was standing on a table, trying to get everyone's attention. It was pretty funny to watch, honestly. Adam was rubbing Yahn's head as Mr. Davenport pleaded through a megaphone. "Guys, I know this whole situation sucks, but if you'd pay attention for a few minutes, I promise that I can make it better."

Of course, no one listened. They had likely been promised this type of thing since they had arrived. Now, some rich man was going to help them? No way. So they continued to talk among themselves, no matter what Mr. Davenport said. It likely wouldn't help anything.

No one caring about what Mr. Davenport thought he was important enough to be doing? Ah, normalcy.

After a few minutes of this pleading charade, Douglas' voice caught Adam's attention. "What's he doing?"

Adam jumped a bit, wanting to hit Douglas soundly. Why did he always have to come up on his blind side? It was so inconsiderate!

Tasha, however, broke into Adam's thoughts. "Douglas? Who's this?"

Adam turned his head to see Douglas holding the hand of a kid who couldn't be older than eight. Douglas shrugged as if it was nothing. "Trevor. Anyways, Don is doing…?"

Tasha sighed, ignoring the question again. "You just can't help yourself, can you?"

Douglas scowled. "I didn't kidnap anybody, if that's what you're implying. He came to me."

Tasha raised an eyebrow. "Really? You didn't kidnap him?"

Douglas covered his heart with his free hand dramatically, gasping. "Your accusations! They're like daggers in my heart! I would never –"

"Yes, you would," Leo cut in, snorting.

Adam rolled his eyes before nudging Trevor. "Where are your parents?"

Trevor pressed closer to Douglas' side shyly, squeezing his hand. "The monsters ate them."

"Monsters?" Adam repeated, frowning.

"The demons, I think," Douglas supplied quietly. "He's by himself here."

Trevor pointed at Bree. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's in a vegetative state," Douglas answered. "Can't really do anything anymore. Probably isn't even aware of where she is."

"Oh. Did the monsters do that?"

Adam winced. Technically, the "monsters" had done that, and he hadn't been fast enough to save her. He avoided her blank stare guiltily.

"Anyways, Donnie? Is he trying to tell everyone how great he is? Again?" Douglas pointed at the table, where Mr. Davenport was still making futile attempts at getting everyone's attention.

Tasha sighed. "I don't actually know what he's trying to do this time. He said something about helping everybody here, but didn't elaborate."

Douglas rolled his eyes. "He can't save everybody."

Trevor started tugging on Douglas' shirt. "Can't he just set off the siren on the bullhorn thing? That's how the teachers got our attention when we were playing outside."

"Hey, that's a good idea," Leo said. He pulled Ysthry out of his pocket – she was still a mouse and looked rather angry at being disturbed – and said, "Go tell Mr. Davenport to set the siren off."

Ysthry winced, but hopped down to the floor, scurrying away through the crowd.

Trevor frowned. "Is that mouse trained?"

"No," Adam said. "She's-"

"Something we're going to talk about much, much later," Douglas interrupted, shooting Adam a look.

Yahn climbed up Adam's shirt, his little mouse tail flicking a bit to keep his balance before perching on Adam's shoulder, pretending to wash his whiskers as he whispered, "Demons killed the kid's family. Mentioning that imps are around might make him panic."

Adam nodded as the loudest siren tore through the air, catching everyone's attention instantly. Probably because it echoed around the room, making it twice as loud. Still, everybody fell silent, glaring at Mr. Davenport as he turned the siren off. "Now that you're quiet," Mr. Davenport began, almost snorting, "I have something that's going to make you feel slightly better." He knelt down and picked up a clipboard. "There are twelve of these up here. What is on them is a list of available rooms of three different hotels."

Instantly, the crowd protested. "We don't have the money to stay in a hotel long-term!"

"What happens after we have to leave the hotels? We can't rebuild!"

"I don't want to go somewhere just to come back here a few days later!"

Mr. Davenport set off the siren again, restoring silence. "Let me finish. You'll be staying there for two months. It's already paid for. The meals, the housekeeping, the basic comforts of home, all of it."

This time, a quiet murmuring rose from everybody.

Mr. Davenport went on. "All you have to do is sign up for your room. The city is sending buses out to take you there. The only thing we ask is that families try to room together. We don't have enough for everyone's kids to have a separate room from their parents."

More murmuring followed.

"Now, please, if we could just line up, we can get everyone out of here by tonight," Mr. Davenport concluded. He then switched off the bullhorn and hopped down from the table, almost bolting out of the way to avoid the surge of people trying to sign up for a room. He was lost to view almost instantly.

Adam frowned. How did Mr. Davenport get three different hotels to agree to that?

Tasha, however, smiled a bit. "I wonder how much money Don had to spend to make that happen."

Douglas shrugged, Trevor still clinging to his hand. "Enough that he likely cried setting it up."

Leo snickered, but Adam frowned thoughtfully. Mr. Davenport had paid for the whole thing? It was so selfless.

Whatever Adam had thought of Mr. Davenport before, the word "stingy" never came to mind again.