Hello Readers! I have a couple of announcements, if you read Salvaged & Saved you've already read these.

#1 Due to the number of long stories on the upcoming stories list I'm going back to five long stories at a time. However, it will not happen until after the new year. Also bear in mind I don't suddenly have extra time on my hands, so it will still be several days between chapters. However, on average long story chapters will be longer.

#2 Starting now I will no longer be posting a one shot with each round of stories. Currently the order is:

Salvaged & Saved

Alone on a School Night

Swirling Storm Inside

Live in My House, I'll be Your Shelter

Two chapters of the same Short Story

One Shot

And then we go back to Salvaged and Saved. If you've looked at my profile page you know that there is quite a list of One Shots and are probably wondering why I'm stopping. Well, I'm not stopping all together. I will still post them, but will only work on them when I'm inspired to do so and will post when done. Essentially one shots will now be surprises. My main reason for this decision is that I have an absolutely terrible time deciding which One Shot to do each round. It ends up delaying the other stories and I have been (as I'm sure you've noticed) in general choosing the one shots I think will be the shortest just to get them out of the way. I don't want to do that, I want them to be good and I want you guys to enjoy reading them.

Really these two decisions go together, if I'm not doing a one shot each round it leaves time for a new long story

Okay enough of me talking, enjoy the chapter!

Ch. 55 Blackbird Rise Up, Tell Me What You See

(FITZ)

"I'm closing the garage tonight," Sean tells me as I come into the kitchen Monday morning.

"And I'm working tonight," Emma adds.

"I have wrestling tryouts, I'll probably grab dinner from The Dot afterward," I reply.

"You could always go to the Mason's for dinner," Sean comments.

"An awkward dinner at my ex's, no thanks. I'll get dinner from The Dot. Jeff usually goes over to Clare's after practice, if I'm there it will look like I'm imposing or spying."

"I don't think it would, I know they still welcome you, but here be stubborn," Sean says giving me twenty bucks.

I take the money, hug my brother, kiss Emma's cheek and put the money in my wallet as I grab my backpack and leave. My old car doesn't want to start in the cold, so Emma gives me a ride to school and Sean says he'll look at my car before he goes to work. With the delay I get to school just a few minutes before the bell and have to go straight to class. Drew is here and I sit at my desk next to his.

"Worried about tryouts today?" Drew questions.

"Not a bit, there's not a lot I can do, but wrestling I'm great at," I reply with a confident smile and Drew grins.

Bianca comes into class followed by Owen and a few other Ice Hounds including Jeff. I spend my spare period today working out and preparing for the tryouts this afternoon. After which I am very ready for lunch, I eat with Owen, Bianca, Drew, Jenna, K.C., Tris and Zane. Adam and Clare are eating with Jeff and Anya. After lunch I have drama, a class I do like, but a class I also have with Clare and Jeff, which makes the class a bit awkward. We're broken into pairs to work on scenes, I get paired with Eli.

"You think Miss Dawes intentionally paired Clare's ex's?" Eli questions.

"Seems like it," I shrug.

"She does seem happy with Jeff," Eli comments.

"Yeah, she is. I want her to be happy, and Jeff is a good guy, I have nothing against him, but I miss her and that hurts," I comment. Eli puts a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. "Come on, let's learn this scene we have to preform it at the end of class," I tell him hoping the distraction will keep me from thinking of Clare.

Eli and I get through the scene at the end of class, it's only sixty seconds, each pair preforms their scene before the bell rings. Clare was paired with another girl and they go last. As we're leaving class Clare wishes me luck at tryouts today. English is not my favorite class and as the last class before tryouts it seems to last forever. Finally the last bell of the day rings and I head to my locker to stash my books and backpack, then I head to the boy's locker room. It's a bit crowded with some of the basketball team here getting changed to warm up. Drew is here, so is K.C. and I change with them. Wrestling tryouts are in the auditorium, but not for an hour and I want to warm up in the gym first. Tryouts go great, and Coach says I definitely have a spot on the team. I shower, grab my backpack from my locker and walk to The Dot to get some dinner.

"Hey Fitz, how were tryouts?" Spinner asks when I come in. The Dot is pretty full, lots of kids hanging out after school.

"Great, Coach says I have a spot."

"Never had my doubts," Spinner grins.

"Thanks," I smile. I order a burger and pop, pay and find a seat in the crowded café. I sit down and pull out my books to attempt to do some homework. Spinner brings me my food when it's done and I start eating, finishing the burger fast. When I'm done eating Spin comes and takes my plate, I could go home but I stay to finish my homework here. I'm also really not looking forward to the walk home.

"Hey Spin, hi Fitz," Lucas says walking in.

"Hey Lucas," we greet our friend together.

"Large coffee Spin, I need to get to work. It's snowing again," Lucas says putting money on the counter.

"Snowing?" I question looking out the window again, I've been so focused on homework I didn't even notice. "Shit," I mutter.

"Need a lift? Your place is on my way," Lucas offers.

"Yeah, thanks," I nod. I stuff all my things into my backpack, wave to Spin and leave with Lucas. "How's the apartment working out?" I ask him. A little over a week ago we moved him and Mia into their new apartment.

"Great, we love the place. Still a lot to do before the baby comes but we have time."

"Yeah, and all of us to help," I add and he smiles.

I tell him about tryouts before he drops me at home. Sean won't get home for an hour and Emma won't be home until after two, so the house is quiet right now. I watch TV and finish up my last bit of homework, when my brother gets home he tells me my car works again and I tell him about wrestling tryouts. We're both up until Emma gets home and then we all go to bed. Tuesday morning my car does indeed start and I'm able to drive myself to school. First thing I do is head straight to the bulletin board outside the gym to look at the wrestling team roster.

"YES!" I exclaim happily.

"Good news?" Clare asks.

"Not only did I make the wrestling team but I'm Captain this year," I inform her.

"That's great Mark congratulations," she grins kissing my cheek.

"Thanks," I reply and then there's a moment of awkwardness. She looks like she wants to say something, and like something is on her mind. "Adam seems to be doing better," I say after a moment. If there's something she wants to talk about with me she knows she can.

"Adam is doing a lot better, Anya is a big part of that. He's also excited to go to his appointment tomorrow, he's looking forward to starting hormone therapy. What I'm worried about is Thursday," she admits.

"Maya's birthday," I nod. No one has mentioned it yet, with her death being not that long ago I think we all just didn't want to think about it. She would have been fifteen this Thursday.

"I'm worried about K.C. too, I don't think anyone's talked to him or Lisa about what they want to do, or if they even want to do anything. And Adam, he is getting better, but Maya's death hit him hard, and I just don't know how he's going to feel on her birthday."

"I'll talk to K.C. and you talk to Adam. If Adam doesn't feel up to anything on Maya's birthday no one will blame him. Lisa and K.C. may want to do something on their own."

"Yeah, I'll talk to Adam later, thanks Mark and congratulations again on making Captain, I know you'll make a great one," she smiles before walking off.

I go to my locker to stash some books before I go looking for K.C., I find him in the foyer with a lot of our group. I greet everyone and tell them I made Captain, everyone is happy and congratulates me.

"K.C. walk with me," I request. He doesn't ask why, just gets up and walks with me. "Have you and your mom talked about Maya's birthday at all?" I inquire.

"No, no one's brought it up, I don't think any of us want to," he admits.

"If you guys don't want to do anything and just let it pass we'll understand. If you want to celebrate alone we'll understand, if you want us there we'll be there."

"What about Adam?" K.C. questions.

"Not sure, Clare will talk to him, he's doing better but he may not be ready to do anything on her birthday. If he's not then the Mason's will be with him. Think about it, talk to your mom, call me later tonight and I'll talk to everyone else."

"Yeah, I will thanks Fitz," K.C. grins.

I smile back, patting his arm and we part ways just before the bell rings for us to get to class. No one else mentions Maya's birthday at school, as soon as school lets out I go to the auditorium for the first wrestling practice this year. Coach welcomes everyone and announces that I'm Captain, the other guys congratulate me and then we get to warm ups. After an hour and a half of practice I'm beat. I shower, change and get in my car driving home. Sean is home, Jay is here too, they're making dinner and I help them finish. Emma's working tonight, so she won't be home for dinner. After dinner, while I'm in my room doing my homework, Clare calls.

"Hey."

"Hi, I spoke to Adam. He doesn't know yet what he wants to do or if he'll be up for anything. He told me he'd think about it. Have you heard from K.C. yet?"

"No, he's supposed to call me tonight. I'll let you know when I hear from him."

"Thanks Mark, I told Adam if he didn't want to do anything I'd be with him."

We hang up and I get back to my homework. A while later my phone rings again, this time it's K.C. and I answer.

"Hey K.C."

"Hey, I talked with my mom and we didn't feel it was right to let Maya's birthday pass without any kind of acknowledgement. We want to keep it simple and calm though, so we're going to gather and eat some of her favorite foods, listen to some of her music. At first we were thinking of gathering at the Mason's but we weren't sure what Adam was up for."

"He's not either, I told Clare I'd call her back after I heard from you,"

"Joey and Caitlin said we could gather at their place, we'll do it Thursday evening, maybe five to nine."

"Sounds good. I'll call Clare and let her know, she can tell everyone there and they'll decide what they want to do, or what Adam is up for."

"Thanks Fitz," K.C. says before hanging up. I scroll through my contacts and click on Clare's number.

"Hey, just got off the phone with K.C., they're going to do a dinner gathering at Joey and Caitlin's on Thursday. K.C. said around five to nine, if Adam's not up for it, or if none of you come because you want to stay with Adam we'll understand."

"Thanks Mark, I'll talk to Adam. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Clare."

I hang up with her and get back to my homework, finishing a couple hours later. I tell Sean and Jay about the gathering Thursday just before Jay leaves to go home. Sean goes to bed early but I stay up late watching TV, so I'm up when Emma gets home. I tell her about Thursday and she says she can probably go until she has to work, but doubts she can get the night off. After talking to Emma, I go to bed. I sleep pretty restlessly though, I wake up feeling tired and I don't want to go to school. When I haven't gotten up and gone out to the kitchen for breakfast Sean comes in.

"Come on time for school," Sean says hitting my side with a pillow.

"I know, I know. I'm up, I'm up," I yawn.

I skip breakfast, I'm not that hungry, and once I'm ready leave for school. The first person I see when I arrive is Adam, he seems to be waiting for Anya, but I go over to him anyway.

"Hey Fitz," Adam grins.

"Hi Adam, so your appointment is this afternoon?"

"Yeah, Spinner is picking me up right after school. It's just a consultation, but I might be able to start hormone therapy," he says with an excited grin.

"That's great."

"Yeah, I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow," Adam remarks and on the word tomorrow his voice gets sad. He knows what tomorrow is, and I can see how painful it is for him to think about. I'm about to say something when I see Anya approaching, along with Jeff of course.

"Hey Adam," Anya greets him with a smile, "hi Fitz."

"Morning Anya, Jeff," I nod to them.

Jeff says hey and we walk into school together, I part from them once we're inside to get to my locker. I see Owen and tell him about the dinner for Maya tomorrow night, he says he'll be there and he's sure Tris will be too. There's no one else for me to tell since Drew and Bianca already know. At lunch, Clare finds me at my locker.

"Adam still isn't sure if he wants to come tomorrow night. He said, he may not be sure until it's time. I told him that was okay. Spinner switched a shift, but Drew has to work."

"That's fine, K.C. knows as many of us will be there as can be," I reply. I close my locker about to walk off, but I see a look in her eyes I know well. "What's on your mind?" I ask putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Just worried about Adam, the appointment today is a lot and tomorrow will be hard for him."

"Both are true, but that's not all. Come on Clare I know you better than that," I tell her tipping her chin up a little to meet my eyes.

"I guess I'm thinking about tomorrow too, and how many people it feels like we've lost recently. Zig, Maya, my dad last year. I died for a moment, we thought Adam might die after the beating Reese's cronies gave him. I just can't help but wonder who we'll lose next," she sighs.

I brush her cheek with the back of my fingers, "I can't promise that no one else will die, but I promise you won't lose me, or anyone else if I can help it."

"Thanks Mark," she grins standing on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek.

I smile, and we walk to drama together. Miss Dawes has us read from "A Florentine Tragedy" by Oscar Wilde. I don't really understand all of it, but it's not bad. On the other hand, I almost fall asleep in English since Miss Dawes spends most of the class reading to us. I wake up for wrestling practice though, I like wrestling practice. By the time I get home, eat and finish my homework I'm exhausted, and tonight I sleep well.

When I wake up though I feel sad, it's weird to feel sad on a friend's birthday, but we just lost Maya a few weeks ago. Emma and Sean are at the table when I get up, they both get up and hug me. We're all feeling it, we're all sad today when we should be happy, ready to celebrate a friend's birthday and not mourning her loss. The taking of her own life at her own hands. No one eats, we all have coffee, but no one eats, and I leave early to stop at the Mason house before going to school. Everyone is up when I arrive, and everyone is somber. I hug everyone and stay with them, Clare and Adam ride to school with me. Owen, Tris, Jeff and Anya are on the steps when we get there. Anya hugs Adam and kisses his cheek, Jeff greets Clare with a kiss. Drew and Bianca join us, and we wait for K.C. and Jenna, they show up just before the bell, I hope K.C. makes it through today.

Few people outside of our group even know that it's Maya's birthday so no one else says anything, at least not that I'm aware of. I do see some people giving us odd or worried looks since we're all sad. I hear from Jenna later that a few teachers spoke to K.C. and to Adam. After school Bianca takes Drew's car and takes Clare, Adam and Anya back to the Mason's. I have wrestling practice, Owen has hockey and Drew basketball, K.C. ops to skip basketball practice today. Caitlin picks him and Jenna up from school. For the time I'm in wrestling practice I'm able to put the fact that it's Maya's birthday from my mind, as soon as it's over and I'm showering however I remember what day it is. By the time I'm out of practice and showered it's almost time to go to Joey and Caitlin's. Jenna texted everyone the address earlier, so I head straight there.

"Hi Fitz, glad you could come," Lisa greets me with a hug when I walk in.

"I'm glad you guys decided to do something. Has anyone heard from the Mason's?" I question.

"Spinner called and said that he, Paige and Bianca would come, but that Adam didn't think he could do it. Drew's working, and Clare wanted to stay with Adam, Jeff and Anya will be with them too," K.C. informs me.

"Can I help with anything?" I offer after greeting everyone else.

"No everything is ready we're just waiting for everyone to get here," Lisa tells me.

Sean, Emma and Jay come together, arriving a few moments after I did. While they're hugging everyone Lucas and Mia arrive. Last to arrive are Owen, Tris, Paige, Spinner and Bianca. Now that everybody's here we sit down to eat dinner, there's all of Maya's favorite foods, and it's buffet style so people take what they want.

"I want to thank you all for coming to this dinner. I know this is hard for everyone and this is not a happy occasion, though it should be. Maya was fond of all of you, so many of you were like family to her. She should be here celebrating with us, and I'll never fully understand why she decided to end it all. I am grateful for the time we had with her," Lisa says raising her glass. We all raise our glasses in agreement with Lisa's speech.

"My sister was ornery, curious, musically talented, she could be a real pain, but I can't imagine spending the last, nearly fifteen years without her. Moving on with life without her is not going to be easy. I miss her every day," K.C. says and then begins to cry. Jenna puts down her fork and hugs him tight. Lisa, sitting on the other side of K.C., also hugs him.

"I remember the first time I met Maya, she was maybe three or four and hanging out at the Mason's. She was playing cello I couldn't believe this tiny little girl could control the instrument that was so much bigger than her," Jay remembers with a fond smile.

"Maya always had feisty streak, even as a kid she hated to be thought of as a kid. She was so ready to grow up," Paige comments. She has a smile when she begins, but as she keeps talking the smile fades.

"I remember her whenever I hear music. She loved music, playing it, listening to it, knowing everything about it, Maya was music," Bianca says and we all raise our glasses again.

Everyone has a story to share about Maya over dinner. After dinner Lucas and Emma have to leave to get to work. After they say their goodbyes we sit in the living room listening to music that Maya made and recorded. No one says much, but in a way it feels like Maya is there with us. We have Maya's favorite dessert, share some more stories and then it's over. Since Sean came with Emma he rides home with me.

"That was nice, I'm glad they did something, it was good for K.C. and Lisa," I comment as I'm driving home.

"Yeah, it was good. I wish Adam had been there tonight I think it would have done him good," Sean says and I nod. "Did you talk to him today? Did he say how the appointment went?" Sean asks after a moment.

"No, didn't talk to him very much and he didn't mention the appointment. I'll talk to him tomorrow," I reply.

When we get home Sean puts on the TV and we watch for a few hours before going to bed. I don't sleep very well though, I have an odd dream and after falling back to sleep I have a bad one. I really don't sleep very much and end up getting up very early. Emma is still asleep, but Sean is up because he opens this morning.

"Couldn't sleep?" Sean asks when I sit down at the table.

"I slept, it just wasn't very restful," I yawn.

"Me either, not sure why though. Last night was a good thing, it was a healing thing for everyone, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I thought so. It felt like it," I reply looking at my brother. He looks at me, pats my shoulder and gets up to get me a cup of coffee.

We drink coffee while sitting silently at the table, when Sean goes to get ready for work I get ready for school. It's too early to go to school, but The Dot is open and I got there. Though it's not quite seven yet The Dot is open, Spinner is here and so is Clare. I guess Sean and I were not the only ones who couldn't sleep last night.

"Hey Fitz, need some coffee?" Spinner questions.

"Yeah, make it a double," I nod. I start to get out my wallet and Spinner shakes his head. I smile at him and sit down next to Clare.

"Didn't sleep either?" She asks with a yawn.

"Not so much," I shake my head.

"Spinner said the dinner for Maya was good," Clare remarks as Spinner brings me my coffee.

"Thanks Spin," I say to him and he smiles before going back to the counter. "Yeah, the dinner was good, it was healing, but I didn't sleep well and neither did Sean. What did you and Adam do last night?"

"Anya and Jeff came over and we watched a couple movies, ordered a pizza for dinner, that was it. The night was pretty calm, no one talked about Maya, Adam was thinking about her though. I don't think he wanted Anya to know. It was calm and nice, but I had one of those nightmares last night where I wake up terrified but remember nothing."

I don't know what to say so I just hug her. She leans into me a little and kisses my cheek when I release her. We drink our coffee and Spinner makes us eat something, after an hour we decide to go to school, and wave to Spinner as we leave. I walk Clare to her locker, and lean against the lockers next to her while I wait for her to get her books out.

"I can't lose anyone else Mark," Clare says as she closes her locker and I look at her. "I feel like we've lost so many people recently. Dad, Zig, Maya, I just can't lose anyone else. I think maybe that's what those nightmares I can't remember are about. I don't remember the dreams when I wake up, but I always wake up feeling terrified and alone."

"You're not alone Clare, not ever," I assure her as I hug her tight. "And like I told you before, if I can help it you won't lose anyone else."

She nods against my chest but doesn't say anything. After a moment I let go of her and we go out to the foyer to wait for the others. Drew, Bianca and Adam are the first to arrive.

"Hey Adam, how was your appointment the other day?" I question.

"It was good, the doctor said there are hormones I can start taking. Not right away though, I have to go through a few more appointments first."

"That makes sense, it's not exactly a simple thing. When's your next appointment?" I question.

"Next week," he replies.

"Cool, any other plans for next week?" I question everyone since it's March Break.

"Working, as much as I can, I've got a bunch of extra shifts. When not working, spending time with B," Drew replies.

Bianca smiles and kisses Drew. "I'll be visiting Drew at work, probably doing some chores at the house, practicing for Bright Sparks, no big plans," Bianca says.

"We'll be doing chores, and hanging out with Jeff and Anya probably," Adam replies for him and Clare.

"Owen will have practice, but I don't think he has any plans other than that. Tris will probably spend all the time with Zane. I know Jenna is planning to do nothing, she says being pregnant sucks now and she can't wait for the kid to get out. I think K.C. plans on working a lot and being with Jenna and his mom. What about you Mark?" Clare asks.

"Oh," I shrug, "working out, wrestling practice, hanging at the garage, sleeping in."

(K.C.)

"I can barely fit behind the desk," Jenna groans.

It's Tuesday, March 14th and we're just settling into homeroom. Yesterday was our first day back after March break, no one did anything exciting over break. Everyone was either working, doing chores, hanging out and relaxing, that was about it.

"Three more weeks," I remind Jenna kissing her temple.

"I'm not going to last three more weeks," she pouts. I smile and sit down at my desk. Mr. Armstrong begins class and for the first 45 minutes everything is normal, and then Jenna makes a noise. "K.C., my water just broke," Jenna tells me.

I look over and see a puddle of water on the floor. "Shit," I exclaim without thinking and everyone looks at me.

"Something you wish to share with the class Mr. Guthrie?" Mr. Armstrong inquires.

"Jenna's water just broke," I reply still in shock.

"Oh my, uh we should…"

"Get her to the nurse," Adam finishes for Mr. Armstrong.

"Yes, Adam you can help K.C. get Jenna to the nurse," Armstrong nods.

I help Jenna up, Adam grabs my backpack and books as well as Jenna's. Then he helps me get Jenna to the nurse. Jenna lies on the table while I call Caitlin and tell her it's time. After hanging up with Caitlin I go to Jenna and take her hand. She squeezes my hand, looking up at me with excitement and fear.

"Breathe, remember your breathing," I remind her and she nods. Adam waits with us until Caitlin arrives, Mom and Simpson authorized her and Joey to pick us up in the event of a baby emergency. Going into labor is definitely a baby emergency.

"It's time, let's get you to the hospital," Caitlin grins, giddy with excitement since she's about to meet her baby.

I grab our backpacks then Caitlin and I get Jenna out to the car. I put Jenna in back and hop in next to her while Caitlin races to the hospital. She pulls up to emergency and runs in, a moment later she returns with a nurse and a wheelchair. We get Jenna into the wheelchair and the nurse wheels her in, I follow Jenna inside while Caitlin parks the car. I'm not actually sure what happens in the next few minutes, in my memory we rush Jenna to a room and then suddenly I'm in a gown, along with Joey and Caitlin at Jenna's bedside. She's holding my hand and Caitlin's as we coach her through breathing. The hospital, and of course our OB/GYN already know the situation and why there are four people in the room.

I wish I could say it was a beautiful thing, the miracle of birth and all that. Truthfully, it's not, Jenna is screaming and grunting and making all kind of faces. There's blood and all kinds of other things, and it took ten hours for him to come out. Even when the baby was out he's all covered in stuff, I'm really glad Joey cut the cord. After the baby is taken to get cleaned the doctors were still between Jenna's legs, at that point I decided to leave and call people, I felt like I needed some air. Mom came from work, but she's been in the waiting room since our doctor came in the room for the birth, which was really all she was there for.

"He's finally out, he seems healthy, though I didn't really see him," I tell Mom.

"I'll go see how Jenna's doing," Mom smiles.

"I'm going to go call Adam, he can tell everyone else."

Mom nods and walks toward Jenna's room. I go outside and call Adam, it's almost eight so they should be done with dinner and definitely still awake.

"Hey K.C., does this mean the baby has been born?" Adam asks upon answering.

"Yeah, he seems healthy. Can you pass on the news?"

"Sure."

"Jenna's pretty tired, but you guys can come see her tomorrow."

"Cool. I'll tell everyone else."

I hang up with Adam and go back to the room. Joey and Caitlin are holding the baby and Jenna seems to be asleep, Mom is sitting in the chair near Jenna's bed.

"Jenna's exhausted, they'll keep her here a couple of days and she's in good hands. They're about to take the baby to the nursery, he'll stay the night there. We should go and let Jenna rest," Mom tells me, and I nod. I'm ready to be home, before leaving I go over to Joey and Caitlin to see the baby Jenna and I made.

"He's beautiful K.C., and very healthy," Caitlin assures me.

I smile down at the tiny human, he looks sort of better now, but also kind of old and wrinkly. "Did you decide on a name?" I ask them.

"Jared Douglas, after our grandfathers," Caitlin tells me.

I smile again, we say goodbye to them, I kiss Jenna before leaving and ride home with Mom. We stop to pick up some food on the way home, and I fall asleep exhausted soon after eating.

Update soon will likely jump ahead a bit to a birthday party. Next story to be updated is Live in My House, I'll be Your Shelter.