"Damnit, it's cold."

The complaint left the mouth of a young man, wearing a thick, heavy coat. Despite wearing three to four layers of clothing, including a scarf that had been given to him by a family member, Henry was still rather cold. Standing on the street at a crosswalk, watching as the light across the way blinked, switching to give him the walk symbol, he began to walk slowly on the icey roads. It was Christmas Eve, and the entire town was now getting white snow falling slowly. Over a foot of snow in the past week had fallen - it turned the city into a winter wonderland - or a cruel hell for those few who did not have somewhere to go.

And yet, it was partially for that reason Henry was walking home, instead of driving. Trudging past alleyway after alleyway of the downtown, his blue eyes glanced down alleyways. He had offered to help a neighbor find a cat that had escaped - likely by now, the cat must have found his way back home. At least, Henry hoped so, even as he kept looking down dark alleys, occasionally turning on a flashlight to look down there.

Henry was in his early twenties, a former military grunt from the army. Having a crew cut really sucked at this part of the year though - short red hair did nothing to stop the cold from getting to his head. Cursing to himself even as his boots took another stomp through the ground, thankful for at least having the foresight to wear snowshoes, he continued walking in the night, noticing the snow getting heavier...

She ran through the alleys as fast as her body would let her. She knew that they were on her trail and that she couldn’t run for much longer but she couldn’t stop. She couldn’t let them catch her but she knew that it would not be long before they caught it. She didn’t know the layout of the city and had found her way through a path of back alley’s which was all well and good other then the fact that no one would see her in the alleys and she needed someone to see her in order for her to get some help.

She was freezing, the boots were the best thing that she had because the rest of it was jeans and a casual jacket. Long brown hair protected her head both nothing else. The clothing was meant for walking around the warm house nut running through the snow. Especially not carrying what she was... The woman was with child, only she wasn’t exactly a woman. She was just a teenager, her swollen belly was covered by a red shirt and a black jacket covered that. Just as she thought she couldn’t go on any further she saw the light from a street lamp. There was a street. On the street there were houses and people and help! She needed help.

Shivering as she ran she moved as fast as she could to get out of the alley, to bad she didn’t make it. She heard them behind her, if she looked over her shoulder she would be able to see them. One grabbed her shoulder and jerked her backwards, the icy floor making her fall but thankfully she landed on her but instead of her front. They mocked her, how dare she try and run from them. What right did she have? And all of those other kinds of things. Then one through a punch and hit her in the face. She screamed. She didn’t bother to try and protect her face, her arms went to protecting her stomach “Help!” she screamed, “Someone help me!!!”

“Shut you bitch!” they yelled at her and they slapped her across the face. Another one kicked her side and when she tried to get up they pushed her back down. She could see the street, she had been so close. They kicked her back and her sides, even kicking at her stomach but her arms took every blow. She would protect her unborn child over herself. “Help me!” she yelled, praying that someone, anyone, would hear her and save her from these people.

Henry's peaceful romp through the snow ended when he heard the screams, an instant motion of raw movement overcoming him. Running through the snow, the man rolled into view at the entrance to the alleyway, turning to look - seeing at least three figures kicking something. Anger welled inside Henry - of all the bullshit he had to put up with in another country, now to come back and see this sight burned him to the very core.

Whatever they were hitting was not an animal, Henry knew - it was another human. And, given the clothing, it was someone who didn't plan to be outside - but was either chased or dragged to this alleyway. So obvious were the men who were causing pain that Henry's nerves just seemed to go white; Henry had been known for his temper, but after what he'd seen in the war, seeing something similar here was just too much.

"Hey DIPSHITS!" He called out at the top of his lungs, his right hand already reaching into his jacket. With a swift motion, he withdrew a M9 Pistol, the standard military pistol, and aimed it at the men. "Freeze, or I'll shoot, you bloodly cowards!" He added, being cautious to move if they were armed - though Henry doubted they were. Scum of the earth would likely die tonight, and if that person was badly injured, Henry doubted God would have any mercy on the men.

Then men turned around and saw the gun, their eyes went wide and, after delivering a final kick, they turned and ran leaving the person there on the ground. She was sitting, her back to the man so she couldn’t even see who had rescued her. He couldn’t see anything but from the long hair he could guess it was as woman, then when she turned to look at him her would be able to see that she was just a teenager, making what the men had done even worse, however the worst part of it came when she tried to get up.

She managed to stumble to her feet, using the walk to keep herself up and facing the man revealing a large, pregnant belly. Kicking a pregnant young girl, that was what they had been doing. She managed to get out of the alley and into the street lights. Her beautiful brown eyes looking up at him, there was blood trailing form her lip from when she had been punched. She whipped it off on her hand and smiled at him weakly. “Thank you.” She said, still using the wall to support herself, one hand on the wall and the other on her stomach. She was still dizzy form being punched in the head.

Henry ran forward as the men were leaving, moving towards the... girl, or so he thought she was, quickly. However, as she stood, Henry's running stopped in his shock. A look of utter disbelief came to his face as he took in the young girl's condition, and the fact she was quite pregnant wasn't lost on him. His rage vanished - his mind was clear, and ready to pull the trigger. But, he wasn't stupid, nor was he cruel. Moving quickly he quickly undid one of his jackets, wrapping it around the girl's body. "You're welcome. Let's get you inside - you need warmth." He said simply, moving to wrap his arms around her as well, moving quickly to become her support, almost slipping himself because of how fast he moved.

"Come, my house is just down the street." Henry told the girl, putting the gun's safety on and putting it away with one hand, before using the other arm to give the girl even more balance as he would move with her down the street. Anger and hatred boiled with him - he should have just fired, he told himself angerily. That way, they would never have the chance to beat another girl - if beating this poor pregnant teenager was the only thing they did to her.

Quickly enough, assuming the girl was willing to go with him, Henry brought the girl to a large condo complex, swiping a keycard to open the front door. Like most gated communities, it was rather secure, if a bit empty. Henry paid it no mind as he helped the girl inside, unlocking a second door as proof of his entry, and walking her through a well Christmas Decorated hall to the nearest elevator, about fifteen feet in. Hitting the Up button, he then looked at her. "So, who were those jackasses following you? Don't worry, they won't make it here." He added, trying to smile at the girl, but still feeling anger at the fact those men escaped...

Suddenly the man just took off his jacket for her and he put it on her. He would be cold but he didn’t seem to care. Her jeans were wet form the snow and she was shivering and he was going so kind and helping her out like this, she could hardly believe it. For a while she thought that men like this simply didn’t exist anymore. He walked with her and he even helped balance her. Once she was sure that he would not let her fall she wrapped both her arms around her stomach, protecting the unborn child from the elements.

She looked up at him occasionally, almost falling a few time but he always caught her and he kept her on her feet. He was going to take her to his home and she didn’t object. She didn’t have anywhere else to go. He took her to his condo complex and into the elevator and she looked at him, confused as to why he was doing this for her.

“They.... they were supposed to bring me back...” she told him as she looked away, “But I didn’t want to go back. I am tired of being there.... there is no kindness in that place and I refuse to bring another life into the one that they gave me.” She told the man as she looked down at her stomach. She rubbed her belly and she smiled weakly. “I.... I never asked for this...” she told him, meaning that she had not asked for the child, which most likely meant that it had come about by a rape.

“And I hated it. I hated it so much that I wanted it gone.... but not anymore....I want to keep the baby now.” She told him as she looked up at him. Then she frowned. “They want to take it from me. The child. And if they do I will never get to see the baby. I had to run but they took my winter cloths. With no where else to go and no warm cloths they didn’t think I would make it out there and that even if I did some how get out, I wouldn’t be able to survive.” She told him. She would never be able to survive out there on her own, had it not been for her then she would be on her way back to that hell right now.

As Henry listened to the girl's tale as they entered the elevator, his mood took a darker turn, if that was possible. He literally punched the button for the 15th floor of the building, near the top of the 18 story building. She hadn't asked for a child - she had been forced. Likely, she had been abused - and she still didn't look like an adult. "Why do they want the child? Most wouldn't care about it, and to be honest, those thugs were aiming for your stomach part of the time, so if they really cared about the baby, they wouldn't have been so rough." He replied, reasoning that the thugs may not have been the rapist. And if he was going to deliever justice upon them, it would be to their leader, as an example.

As the elevator took it's intended destination, Henry moved to help the girl along, walking her to 1507 - his Condo number. Unlocking the door with a key, he opened the door, helping the girl walk inside. It was a large place, albeit, being a studio of sorts, meant that the entire condo was a single room, with a small bathroom attached. The bed was a large Queen sized bed, and there was a couple bean bags nearby in front of a large TV and an XBox 360 console. Otherwise, the room was rather bare, but well lit.

Perhaps the most telling thing about the condo was the large glass wall - the outer wall of the condo looked like a giant sheet of glass with a balcony on the other side. That left a view of the city, stretching onwards for a few miles until one could see the port. An fairly expensive place, but Henry didn't seem to be hurting for cash, so it was affordable somehow. "You should go take a bath. I'll find some spare pajamas, and then you can lie down and rest in the bed." He offered kindly, not relishing the prospect of sleeping on beanbags, but not being entirely against the idea either...

She listened to what they said and she let out a small, humorless laugh. “They were kicking my stomach because I didn’t want them to kick my stomach.” She said with a sad smile. “They are sick people. Giving me a child when I did not want one only to try and take it away when I do want it.... sometimes I think it was their goal in life to make me unhappy... they would have probably sold the child to someone if they got it so loosing it would hurt no one but me.” She told him weakly, they were twisted bastards to do something like that.

She didn’t even seem to notice that he punched the button. She was barely awake in his arms and barely standing. “I’m dizzy...” she told him, resting her head on him, then she jerked slightly and looked down. She smiled at her belly and rubbed it. She wanted the child, after everything she had been through carrying it she wanted it. She would do anything to protect it.

When they got into the room she looked around, it was nice, that was all she was able to gather. She listened to what he said and smiled. “Tomorrow.” She told him. “I just need to get warm.” She told him, clinging to her jacket. It was very likely that she didn’t want to be napped for the time it would take to be in a bath in his home. After what she had been through it would not be surprising.

Henry listened to the girl's responses, feeling angry and yet managing to keep it inside. People like that needed to die, he decided, but that could wait for later. The girl was warm, and as she leaned on him, Henry couldn't help but be a bit self-conscious of her lovely form. Even in pregnancy, she was a lovely girl - he could almost see why she was captured.

As the girl tried to tell him that she would take the bath tomarrow, Henry's eyes went up a bit in alarm. "No, not tomarrow - at the very least, we need to get you dry and in pajamas. Come, I have a few spare sets - you just relax on the bed and undress whatever is wet, and I'll get you a towel and dry wool pajamas so that you don't get sick. After all, your baby is counting on you." He told her, moving to help her to the bed, before moving quickly to fetch both a thick, woolly red pair of pajamas, and a towel to help her dry off before she donned the pajamas. Hypothermia would set in if she slept in cold wet clothing for very long, and therefore Henry would, at the very least, get her into warm clothing before bed. Bringing her the items, he then asked, "Do you need help drying off? If not, then I'll just go over there..." He suggested, pointing towards th bathroom. Naturally, he wasn't going to stop her from refusing a bath, but he knew he needed the warmth as well... and if he stood there, she wouldn't think highly of him...

She looked at him confused at what he said for a moment, he told her to change while he was gone? Hell no. She wouldn’t undress and wait for him naked. That was how she got into this baby mess! She waited for him to come back and she looked at what he was going to give her and she smiled and thanked him. “I can dry myself off.” She told him and then she waited fro him to leave. Once he did leave she began to undress. Yes, she had been very beautiful before the pregnancy and she still was.

When she took off her clothing it exposed bruises, lots and lots of bruises. Apparently they had not been very kind to her. Some were new and others were very old. The abuse had been going on for a while. There was even some bruising on her stomach which she touched tenderly. Forcing her into an abortion was not enough, they wanted to make the child die inside of her.

She changed into the red pajamas once she had dried off her body and stripped form her wet clothing. After she was all changed she looked at her clothing, it was soaked but she folded it. She needed to sleep. She thought and thought for a name but none came to mind. The pants were pulled up to under her belly and she had managed to fit the shirt over it and she called for him. “Um... sir?” she said, unsure of what to call him, they had not made introductions but she sat on his bed, her hands on her stomach and a smile on her face as she watched her belly s if she could see the life inside.

Henry nodded, retreating into the bathroom - there, he quickly did the same thing she did, changing into a pair of green pajamas. Now, his muscular look was even stronger, as he stepped out of the bathroom at her call, turning to look in her direction. "Yes, miss?" He asked, looking at her with a curious look, stopping from going over towards her as he pulled out a series of quilts and down comforters, moving the extra blankets towards the bed and the giant bean bag, knowing it was going to be fairly chilly tonight.

"Oh, I do believe I've forgotten to introduce myself." Henry said, before adding, "The name's Henry Carrier, M'aam. It's a pleasure to meet you." With that he stopped what he was doing, offering his hand out for a handshake, giving her a smile. "May I have your name?" He asked after a moment's notice, deciding that since he was giving his name, perhaps she would give him her name...

She looked up at the man as he introduced himself, she smiled weakly, half out of it as it seemed, “My name is Caroline....” she said, then the smile faded as she kept trying to think, “Caroline....... Caroline.....” she said, it seemed that she was trying to think of her last name but she couldn’t, she smiled up at him. “Just Caroline will be fine.” She said, playing it off like it was nothing. She had been given so many names that it seemed that she couldn’t remember her own. It saddened her a little bit but she didn’t seem to mind.

She sat on the bed, holding the swollen belly as she looked around. “Where will I sleep?” she asked him, assuming that he would be taking the bed. Bean bags could be comfortable, certainly better then the floor so she wouldn’t mind terribly. She stood up from the bed and stepped aside so he could get into his own bed, she didn’t think he would be giving it to her.

Henry smiled, listening to her name - "Caroline... that's a nice name." He said with a nod of his head. As she asked where she would sleep, moving to get off of the bed, he replied, "You will be taking the bed, Caroline. I brought some spare sheets in case there's not enough to warm you up." He said, motioning towards the bed with his hands, before adding, "I'll be sleeping right over there-" With a motion of his hand to the beanbag, "-So you don't have to worry about a thing." Of course, it hadn't occured to him that perhaps those men had treated her horribly over the last several months - it had to be months, as she was raped and forced to bear a child.

Waiting for her to move towards the bed, he added a question, "How many months are you in your term?" With that, he decided to leave it up to her to answer, as he would simply help her with the sheets and whatever she needed to make herself comfortable in the bed.

She looked up at him and thanked him when she was allowed the bed, she heard what he said as she laid down, laying on her side to the weight of the belly wouldn’t be forced down on her but form the moment she did lay on her back he would be able to see how big her belly was. “Six, maybe seven but I think its six months.” She told him with a smile as she rubbed her belly. Then she laughed slightly and looked at him

“The baby kicks now. The moment it kicked I knew that I couldn’t let them have my baby. It’s alive, it is something good that I can do and I won’t let them take this form me.” She told him with a weak smile She was sleepy, she hadn’t had a comfortable bed to sleep on so she was so happy to have one to sleep on. “Good night Henry and thank you so much.” She said with a smile, happy that he saved her and slowly drifting to sleep.

Henry smiled back at Caroline, nodding his head to her reply. "Goodnight, Caroline. Sweet dreams." With that, after letting her cover herself up, Henry moved ot the beanbags, moving to lie on one. Maybe it was because he was tired, aybe because he needed sleep, but soon after, Henry's eyes closed and he fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Henry woke up at around six in the morning, moving quietly into the bathroom to take a long, hot bath. Drawing the water for himself, he moved to lie in the tub, relaxing as he leisurely woke himself up, knowing that Caroline was still sleeping in the bed, and therefore being quiet as to not disturb her sleep. After his long morning bath, Henry got dressed again, redonning a new set of clothing, from a black t-shirt to camo pants, he dressed, shaved, brushed his teeth and flossed before walking out fo the bathroom, looking in Caroline's general direction, moving towards the kitchen section of the room silently...