When Jason put his coat on her to keep her warm she slightly blushed though not too much.She smiled at Him as she leaned her head on his shoulders after he stopped stroking her hair. i wonder why he stopped? Maria wondered as she really hoped everything would be alright.Though as long as she was with Jason she would be fine.

Jason was just about to close his eyes to go to sleep when he snapped back to attention. From the entrance of the alley behind them came the sound of footsteps. They were uneven, as if the person was limping. He pushed Maria aside gently. "Stay hidden," he whispered to her before standing slowly to look over the top of the crates. He held his fists at the ready, just in case one of the Squad had followed them.

When Jason saw who it was, he relaxed and stood up straight to step out from the crates. "How did you make it out?" he asked. The mystery person turned out to only be Zain. The other man was limping from a wound in his leg, but he still managed to smile at Jason's appearance. "I heard you leaving through the fire exit, and the men that followed you. I managed to sneak out after they had divided up to look for victims." Zain finally reached the pile of crates and sighed in relief as he leaned against them. "Where's the little lady?" Zain asked. Jason gestured to the space between the crates.

Maria was sitting down on her feet crouched down so she would stay hidden like Jason had said.Once She heard Zain's voice her eyes widened a bit though she still stayed hidden i hope Zain's alright.. Maria thought as when Zain leaned against the pile of crates she was waved a bit as she was there."hi there"Maria said with a smile.

Zain waved back at her with a smile. "You okay little lady?" he asked.

Maria nodded."yes im fine"Maria said as she smiled as she was still crouched down wondering if it was safe to come out now as Maria was getting a leg cramp from crouching down

Jason looked around once more to make sure that no one else had seen them before returning to sit my Maria's side. Zain stepped around to join them, scooting himself in on Maria's other side. Jason watched his every move with an intense stare, keeping a hand around Maria's shoulder protectively. Zain sighed and sat back, meeting Jason's gaze. He held up his hands in an innocent gesture. "I won't be bad, I promise," Zain assured him.

Maria slightly wondered if Zain and Jason were fighting over to protect her though if they were it made Maria happy she had two strong great guys protecting her.Though her leg she couldn't feel it as it was becomming numb the way she was sitting. ow!my leg hurts....i can't even feel it...

Zain shifted around until he was comfortable, making sure not to press too close to Maria and avoiding Jason's glare. "Oh!" he exclaimed as he remembered a certain thing he was carrying. He reached down the front of his robe to jerk something free from where he had it tied under the material by his sash. It was the penguin. "I didn't leave quite as quickly as I mentioned. I remebered spotting this little cutie when I tried to visit earlier." Zain handed the penguin over to Maria with a smile. "Since you two had to leave so suddenly, I took the oppurtunity to dodge in there before those soldiers came back."

Maria smiled brightly."thank you so much."Maria exclaimed as she hugged Zain a bit and hugged the penguin plushie that Jason had go for her that Zain had rescued.

Zain laughed. "You're welcome little lady." Jason only shook his head and shifted the coat tighter around Maria's shoulders. "Now why don't we all get some sleep," Jason suggested. Zain nodded in agreement and leaned over to rest his his head against the brick wall.

Maria began to dose off as she was completely warn out of her energy strangely.Once Maria had fallen asleep her head ended up laying on Jason's shoulder as she had the plushie penguin in her arms as she slept.

Zain glanced over at Maria's sleeping form, then up at Jason. "So...what exactly are you going to do now?" Zain asked. Jason was quiet for a moment as he thought, his fingers stroking through the ends of her hair. They couldn't stay in the city for long now that the Squad was targetting them. He couldn't even risk going back to the theater. Whoever they had gotten the tip off from obviously hated him, or was bent on getting to Maria. It was the only reason he could think of that they would target his home.

"I'll take her away with me to Russia," Jason answered. Zain stared at him blankly. "Russia? Why there of all places, it's so cold and harsh!" Jason shot him a glare. "Quiet. I know that. Trust me, she'll be okay." Zain frowned and huffed. "Russia," he muttered. "There's nothing special there."

Jason sighed and shifted a bit, careful not to wake Maria, then closed his eyes to drift off to sleep as well. He'd have to find someway to leave Zain behind without the man noticing, if that was at all possible. Zain had a good heart, but he was one of the last people Jason would ever trust with the knowledge of what him and Maria really were.

As Maria slept peacefully on Jason's shoulder she didn't really hear a word what Zain and Jason were talking about.All that was on her mind was staying Jason.She never wanted to be seperated from him.She was wondering if the people who attacked her and Jason were after her,though she had a feeling they were after Jason rather than her.Though all she could think about how protective he was.

The next morning Jason woke to the sound of snipping. Snipping? He felt drowzy and blinked a bit, then reached up automatically as he yawned. His hand hit someone else's hovered next to his face and he snapped completely awake to slam the form in front of him into the crate opposite. There was a squeak and Jason realized it was Zain...with a pair of rusted scissors. "What the the hell are you doing, and where did you find that?"

Zain gave him a sheepish look, twirling the scissors between his fingers. "Well, uh, you see...it was just bothering me all night is all...I had to do something about it. Please, please, please, don't get too angry!" Zain said as Jason let go of him to reach up to his face. Half his beard had been crudely cut away. Jason's eyes turned livid and he wrenched the scissors from Zain's hands, turning the rusted metal on the other. Zain squeaked again in fear. "I was only doing it for the little lady!" he pleaded.

Maria began to awaken a bit.She slowly began to open her eyes as she notice that half of Jason's beard was gone."say what happened to your beard?"Maria asked in a bit of a quiet and innocent tone as she was tilting her head noticing the rusted scissors. did...Zain cut his beard?or did Jason? Maria wondered to herself.

Jason lowered the scissors and looked down at her. Zain rubbed his neck in an embarrassed manner. "That was me," Zain answered to her question. Jason sighed and moved to stand, pushing Maria upright gently. Zain shrank back a little from him, drawing his knees up. Jason gave him a cold look. "Watch over Maria until I return," he ordered before heading off out of the alley with the scissors in hand.

Once Jason had disappeared, Zain let out a huge sigh and let himself relax.

When Zain told maria that is was him who did that to Jason's beard she slightly thought Jason looked a bit better."Oh i see."Maria said.Once Maria stood up she looked over to Zain a bit."So did you sleep well?"Maria asked avoiding what happened between Zain and Jason.

Zain nodded, giving a small smile. "Not the most comfortable sleep, but it was alright. How about you?"

"I slept nice."Maria said with a cheerful smile on her face."I wonder where Jason went."Maria said outloud not realizing she spoke that outloud.

"Likely to fix my bad work. I could've got it right, if he hadn't woken up..." Zain trailed off with a sigh.

"so he woke up while you were cutting it?"Maria asked looking at Zain.i wonder if Jason would need a mirror to cut the rest off? Maria wondered as her blue eyes kept looking up at Zain as she had her arms behind her back as she held her stuffed penguin behind her back a bit.

Zain nodded, then his smile returned and his eyes brightened. "Say, what if we can convince the ole' bear to escape somewhere lovely, like a tropical island? Wouldn't that be grand! I've always wanted to go somewhere nice like that."

"that sounds nice.I always wanted to go somewhere like that.I've never been anyplace but here."Maria admitted as she smiled at Zain cheerfully."we probably need to be persuasive.My parents always told me i was good at that."Maria said with a laugh.

Zain laughed at her last statement. "Persuasive? I bet with just one look from your big blue eyes he'd agree immediately. Just don't mention I suggested it first," he added.

"Alright."Maria said with a laugh."Now we wait till he gets back."Maria said with a smile. so with one look huh?i sure hope this works