IN THIS SKIN -- CHICAGO FIRE

25;

  The next month consisted of Marley staying in Herrmann's spare bedroom and avoiding everyone at all costs. Matt and Otis were forced to sell the apartment as neither Kelly nor Shay were paying rent anymore, and they couldn't expect Marley too. Matt and Gabby had moved in together, and Otis and Cruz had found somewhere. Both pairs offered a room to Marley, but she wanted to be alone and knew that if there was only 3 in an apartment together she'd never have a moment to herself. Whereas at Herrmann's, both Christopher and Cindy were too preoccupied with their own 5 children to pay too much attention to Marley, and so she got left alone like she wished.

She didn't want to deal with the situation. She hadn't. All she did was sleep, read, run then eat and sleep again. She felt empty. The two most important people in her life had gone, and she was beginning to have nightmares again about what had happened to her as a child. She hated talking about it, and her councilor insisted upon bringing it up at each weekly session they had together. She had also been signed up to talk to the Chaplain through the firehouse, but she had yet to actually go to a session there. It would mean seeing people who reminded her of Kelly and Shay, and she could only just handle seeing Herrmann. Herrmann knew something was up, obviously, but both the Chaplain and her councilor had insisted he didn't bring it up with her, and let her make the first move. It was hard for him- in recent weeks he had grown to see her as a daughter, and he wanted to help and protect her, but he knew that bothering her about her feelings would only send her deeper into silence.

Before she knew it, Herrmann's birthday approached. Cindy had asked for her input. She wanted to plan him a surprise party at Molly's and invite everyone to celebrate. She had also arranged to have a smaller family gathering where the kids could attend. As they went through the details, Marley realised that someone would have to look after the kids. She tried to seem down about it, but she was secretly thankful that she wouldn't have to see everyone.
"Do you want me to look after the kids for you?" Cindy's eyes widened.
"Of course not! That won't be necessary at all! I do have a favour to ask though," she began. "the night we're having it, Herrmann would be working, but I don't want him behind the bar at his own party. I know you know what to do. Will you do the bar for me?" Marley sighed, she couldn't get out of it.
"Sure."

Marley looked around her room. The walls were a white colour, with mould marks that refused to be hidden. Her carpet had stains on it, and her bed was unmade. Glass was everywhere, with splatters of blood around. When Marley looked down at her body, she saw it was her own blood. There was a loud thud that broke her train of thoughts, and she scrambled to get to the door. As she opened the door, she was relieved at first. Kelly stood in her doorway, a smirk on his face. Marley was quick to hug him, but he didn't hug her back. Her smile dropped as quickly as she had found it, as she glanced behind him and saw Jonah. Her breathing became rapid. Her hands shook. Her whole body shook. Both men cornered her, trapping her in the room. She looked at Kelly, a pleading look on her face, as she begged him loudly to stop and help. Neither man stopped, and neither had any intentions of helping. They started beating her, both screaming at her, saying how the death's of Shay, and her mother and brother will always be her fault. She screamed, cried, thrashed around, trying anything to get them off her. Finally, they had stopped beating her. And she fell to the floor. A liquid spread across her arms and hands, and the bodies of her dead family members appeared in front of her. She felt arms around her stomach, hitting her once more. This time, she didn't fight back, she just screamed and cried. Suddenly, Shay's body rose, her arms reached out to Marley's shoulders and she shook the girls figure, begging her to wake up.
"Wake up, Marley. This isn't real, this is a dream. Wake up baby."

Marley shot up, startled. She fell into the arms on her shoulders, and sobbed into them. Herrmann stroked her back, ignoring it being lined with cold sweat. He shushed her, trying to calm her down, assuring her she was safe. Her sobs settled slightly, and she pulled her head from him.
"Herrmann, I want to speak to the Chaplain." Herrmann nodded instantly, promising her he would call him first thing.
"Go back to sleep baby." He said, rising from her bed. She grabbed his sleeve, blushing slightly.
"Chris, please, will you, erm, please will you stay? I'm scared to sleep." She admitted. Herrmann felt his heart swell.
"Of course, baby. I'm here forever." Marley smiled at his words. People had promised that before, but for once, she knew he meant it.
"I love you, dad." She mumbled accidentally, as she fell asleep. Her words shook him to the core, and sleep didn't come easy to him after that.