[ WP ] She 's safe in the fire .

It was a Thursday when the fire started. That the Cottage caught fire was n't a surprise, really; it was ancient, built before pesky housing codes and regulations could get in the way of honest labor. Five years of effort went into that house, into making it the sprawling, massive monstrosity it was, and it was all gone in a single night. 
 
 But I get ahead of myself. 
 
 Cam was 32 when we moved back into my Mother-in-Law's Cottage; the Recession hit us all hard, and it was our luck - or misfortune, as the case may be - to be the parents of young triplets. Diapers, baby food... they're not free. Or cheap, for that matter. So away from the city we went, back to their old Cottage, musty smells, creaking floors and all. When the ancient furnace in the basement short-circuited, nobody even noticed until it was a blazing inferno. 
 
 Cam and I woke at nearly the same time. Smoke was already seeping under the door, the faint flickering of flame beyond, and I cursed myself for not realizing it sooner. I looked at Cam, who stared back, wide eyed; `` The children!'' we said at the same time. We both knew what we had to do, but for a moment, Cam froze, eyes drifting down to scarred hands. I took them in mine, letting the warmth of my skin send confidence between us. `` They'll be fine,'' I said calmly. `` Meet me where we planned.'' 
 
 Cam only waited a moment before nodding. A scarce moment, later, my spouse was out the window, scaling down the trellis beyond, and I was through the door into the smoke-filled halls beyond. I gritted my teeth; this was going to be a challenge. 
 
 -- -- - 
 
 `` Cam!'' the yell came from behind, and Cam turned to see their mother sprinting down the ancient country road, as fast as her old legs could take her. `` I'm so sorry,'' she said, panting, `` I should have known this ancient building was n't safe --'' she paused, and her eyes widened, `` Where's-?'' 
 
 `` Inside,'' Cam said. `` Getting the children.'' 
 
 -- -- - 
 
 I ran through sheet after sheet of fire, willing my failing body not to burst into flame through willpower alone. A wall had fallen between our room and the nursery, so I had been forced to take the long way, but finally I reached it; still unburned, still safe from the flames. I looked down at my hands, already bright red in some places, black in others. I shook them in the smoky air, cooling them for as long as I dared before scooping my still-sleeping children into my arms. I trundled them up as tightly as I dared, and then opened the window; the sign for Cam to come closer. Just as planned, he caught our babies in a gentle embrace, and sheltered them in his arms. 
 
 Then the fire burst through the door, and I turned to greet it with a smile. A moment later, everything went white. 
 
 -- -- - 
 
 From the distance, Cam held his tiny babies to his chest, watching stoically as the last remnants of the Cottage collapsed, belching forth a massive blast of flame. 
 
 `` Cam, I-'' His mother began, resting a tenative hand on his shoulder, but he quickly turned to her with a smile. `` Oh mother,'' he said, stroking the scars on the back of his hand, running up his sleeves and to his back, where they looked eerily like handprints, `` Did n't I ever tell you how I met Aine?'' he grasped his children a little tighter to his chest, his hand moving from his scars to their flame-red hair, his gaze drifting fondly back to the inferno that was the Cottage. `` She's safe in the fire.''
