Playing with fire (Amelia Shepherd) ABANDONED

Thirteen

"Okay, so, you had a husband," Mallie said to Travis as the two of them, Dean and Ben rode in the engine on the way to a call.

"He's dead, so I don't know how I can help," Travis frowned.

"I want to ask Amelia to be my girlfriend," Mallie said.

"After you two buy cats and go to a funeral together? Yeah, you're past that," Dean snorted.

"Okay, can everybody stop saying that?" Mallie groaned. "I'm serious. I don't wanna just ask her, 'cause that's shit. I mean, she was married. She's just got a divorce. Her ex husband has a foster kid. It's crazy. I want to do something special," Mallie said.

"Special like what?" Dean said.

"Special like something that we don't normally do!" Mallie whined. "You're useless. All of you. I can't even ask the girls, either, 'cause Andy's suddenly going for coffee with Sullivan and Vic has been acting really weird around me since I got back, and Maya is the queen of commitment issues, so what the hell do they know? And I am not asking Saffie, because she's a wreck, too," Mallie said.

"Watch out!" Travis shouted. Dean slammed on, a tree trunk smashing into the windscreen.

Mallie covered her head, wincing as shards of glass smashed through the front and into the back.

"Holy fuck!" Mallie shouted.

"We're gonna have to run," Ben said, the four of them climbing out to talk to Vic, Maya and Ripley about what to do.

"Can you guys smell that?" Mallie said as they tried to pry a car's doors open.

"What?" Maya said.

"Smell," Mallie said.

They climbed out from under the collapsed garage they were working in, seeing half of the house's roof was on fire.

"Holy fuck," Mallie groaned.

"All right, I'm the fastest. I'll run back to the truck, grab BAs, bottles, and hose lines... anything I can carry," Maya said.

"Uh... we got another problem," Dean pointed at the roof of the garage, which was now catching flames.

"Get those people out of that house. And, Miller, get Jimmy outta that damn car," Maya pointed at Miller, taking off to get the equipment.

"Fire time," Mallie said, pulling her helmet more securely onto her head and taking off towards the house with Ben.

"Everybody, we gotta get out!" Ben yelled as he and Mallie ran into the house. There was a woman on the floor and Mallie nodded for Ben to get her while she looked for the rest.

She had just cleared the rest of downstairs when her radio buzzed.

"Cruz, there's twins upstairs with another woman. Babies," Ben said.

"On it," Mallie said into her radio, racing up the stairs. She pulled open the nursery door, seeing the woman sat on the armchair with crying babies in her arms. "Ma'am, let's go!" Mallie said.

"Take the babies," the woman cried. Mallie grabbed the babies in her arms, pulling the woman to her feet.

"Follow behind me, alright?" she said.

"I'm right behind you. Get the babies out," the woman said.

"Follow me," Mallie said again.

She held the babies to her chest, ducking out of the doorway as the end of the hallway burst into flames. She ran down the stairs, keeping her head low as the bannister started catching fire.