*Discontinued* Murder House

17

(TW~ Burning alive, suffocation, trapped)

It was peaceful... at first. A quiet night... hardly any sound was made. The blankets were warm and soft, and the body laid beside him was a comfort in a house that even after a few months still felt eerie and cold. He didn't know what it was that first pulled him out of sleep... just that the bed felt cold as his husband had left at one point. He could hear the screaming and he frowned, forcing his eyes to blink open.

"Logan?" He called out as he rubbed his eyes, smelling something horrid that his sleepy mind still could not register. "Lo? Hun, are you-..."

"DADDY!" Patton burst up from his bed, eyes wide in shock, as he finally latched on his daughter's cries of fear. That's when he noticed the smoke clinging to the ceiling. "DA-..."

"EVA?" Patton was up and running to his bathroom before his mind even thought about his next move. Living with a man like Logan, you learn a few things anyway. He grabbed a washcloth, soaking it in water before pressing it to his mouth so he wouldn't breathe in the smoke. He raced to his daughter's room, panic filling his blood. Fire ate away at the walls, rising up till it looked like he was walking through a tunnel. He staggered, the heat beating against him, as he forced his way on. The ceiling crumbled and creaked as he finally made it to the room, tears burning his eyes from the panic and the heat. "Eva?" Patton went to try the doorknob only for it to burn him and cause him to cry out. "EVA!" 

"LOGAN!" He screamed out not knowing where his husband was. "LO-" Patton growled as he forced himself to do the doorknob again, the metal searing into his skin bringing even more tears to his eyes. The door opened and Patton fell to his knees clutching his wrist seeing the blood and burnt skin clinging to his palm. He didn't have time to focus on the pain. He had to move. "Eva?"

"Ev-..." Patton's eyes widened seeing the poor girl huddled under a blanket and his eyes shined. "Come on now, Honey. We have to get out."

"D-Daddy?" Patton smiled as he quickly raced over picking the girl up and wrapping the blanket around her, knowing it was the fireproof one Logan had for her in case of emergencies. "Where's Papa?"

"I don't know. I don't... He's probably already outside. You know how Papa is. Now come on, head down sweetheart, try not to breathe in too much smoke." Patton took as deep of a breathe as he could before rushing back out into the flames. Soot was already coating his skin as he desperately tried to avoid the fire that seemed to reach out for them. He had to get out. He had to protect his daughter. The ceiling collapsed making Eva scream as Patton jumped back to avoid being crushed by the burning rubble.

"Patton!" Patton's eyes lit up as he heard that familiar voice. "Patton, where-..."

"Ok, Sugarpea." Patton carefully set Eva down, fixing the blanket around her better before easing her through the small hole in the rubble. "Find your Papa. You aren't that far from the door. Just get out ok?" Patton could literally feel the floorboards warping beneath him. 

"D-Daddy?"

"I love you, Sugarpea. I always will... NOW GO!" Patton watched as Eva ran off as he slowly stepped back away from the rubble trapping him. "I'm sorry, Lo... Just keep Eva sa-" Patton screamed as the floor gave out sending him falling into the inferno beneath him. He could feel the fire tearing into him. He could feel everything until it all just went... black.

"Fire." Patton whispered with tears in his eyes. "Just... Fire." Emile frowned as he paused a bit in his writing. "I'm... being burned alive. I can feel how it melts my skin before just... eating away at me. I look at my arm and... all I see is the bone... just a few muscles desperately clinging to it. My leg is just as bad. I can't feel anything but the fire."

"These nightmares... do they happen every night." Patton's eyes darkened as he just looked away unsure how he was supposed to answer it. Emile sighed sadly as he closed his book with a reassuring look. It had been a while since the apparent break-in and he had only now managed to work up the courage to allow any new patients. He was still in the 'get to know you' phase but this seemed far too important. "Patton, have you ever experienced a house fire." Patton's eyes darkened as he just smiled sadly with a nod.

"You could say that." The alarm went off signaling the end of the session as Patton suddenly jumped up with a bright smile, as if he hadn't looked about ready to cry. "Thank you so much for meeting me, Doctor. I appreciate it."

"It's no problem at all, Patton. If you would like it, I would to set up another appointment for two weeks from now? Is that ok?" Patton just nodded with a giggle as Emile started to go through his agenda. "How's the 5th at 3:30?" 

"That's perfect. Again thank you!" Patton giggled as he ran off only making Emile's smile faltered as he turned back to his writings. They hadn't touched on many things but what they did seemed to be profound enough as it was. 

"Reminder to self... Try to get Patton to talk about his experience with fire." Emile whispered as he wrote the small note next to all his writings. "Now if only I could get through to Romulus."

"Dad?" Emile jumped up the second Virgil's voice perked up behind him. "Is the session over?"

"Yea, kiddo. I'm done for the day. What's up?" Virgil frowned as he just shook his head and ran over to hug his father. Emile's eyes shot wide as he wrapped his arms around his son feeling how Virgil shook. "It's ok, Virgil. I'm here."

"I-I'm sorry. It's just..."

"I know. I understand." Emile smiled sadly over just how scared his son was. He hated seeing Virgil so close to tears. He made himself a promise that he was never going to leave his son like that again. When he had gotten the call he had had a panic attack himself, not calming down for a second until Virgil was in his arms where he knew he was safe. He blamed himself over it all and it tore at him seeing how much it hurt Virgil. "It's ok. I'm not leaving you again."