Alyson put the cans in a bag.

Jennifer picked it up and started toward the door.

"Hey!" Alyson shouted at her a little. She turned around.  "Where are you
guys staying?"

Jennifer panicked. She realized she had no clue whether Raven would mind.
It was private space, and she was beginning to feel protective of it, too.
Though, they didn't exactly own it, she thought. And she was lonely.

"The burned out church on 16th."

"Mind if I stop by after work? For once, I'm not working a double."

"Yeah. Please. I'd love it." Jennifer took the bag. "Thank you so much.
Thank you."

Alyson smiled and waved and turned to the next customer.

* * *

Raven wasn't any better when she got there. Still fevered. Still deathly
pale. She took out the can opener, and hacked at the can. She cursed under
her breath, trying not to wake Raven. Raven didn't even stir. 

Jennifer watched her for a moment to make sure Raven was still breathing.
She started to get nervous just as her chest moved. She relaxed and went
back to trying to get the lid off of the can. Glancing at Raven, she found
herself smiling. She kept imagining the soft but stong body under the baggy
and torn clothes. 

I just want to curl up with her. Some place warm and dry and safe. Jennifer
sighed inwardly. Not today.

She prodded the can again, her hands getting tired. How does Raven do this!?
The metal slowly gave way as she nibbled around the outside. The lid made an
unsatisfying sound as it detached from the rim and sunk into the soup. She
fished it out and set it aside, getting soup on herself. 

So much for being neat. She tried to wipe the soup off of her jacket and
realized that it was the least of her worries. She saw how dirty she really
was. She set the can aside and prodded Raven. She stirred and mumbled
something, then settled down and was still again. Another prod, a little
more vigorous. This time, Raven rolled slightly and opened her eyes.

"Hey, dear." Raven blinked sleepily.

"More soup."

Raven smiled weakly. "You didn't have to. I was going to get up."

"You were not. You were dead asleep. I had to wake you twice."

"Did you really?"

Jennifer smiled. "Yeah. You were really out. Here. Soup."

Raven took the can she offered. She sipped it slowly. 

"Thank you. I feel so tired. So cold." Raven nodded, trying to keep herself
awake.

Jennifer started to worry. It's going to get colder. Shit. I wish there was
heat in here. 

"Let me curl up with you. We can share body heat." I wish I could just take
her home with me. Dad's having a fit already though. Last thing I need right
now is to get kicked out for having a girlfriend. That would not sit well. I
could live with Raven somewhere, though. 

Raven nodded and curled up, holding the blanket against her body. Jennifer
tried to hold herself as close as she could, and pulled another blanket and
her coat over them as best she could. She shivered a little, then felt
herself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Alyson watched the clock. 2:15. Another customer. 2:16. Another customer.
2:17. Another customer. 2:20. Forty minutes.

2:52. "Alyson?" Her manager tapped her on the shoulder. "Alyson. We're short
someone for the evening shift. Can you stay?" It didn't sound like a
question.

She turned and faced her manager. "I can't. I have plans this evening." Her
manager did not look pleased.

"You're quite sure?"

"Yes, Dan, I'm sure. I've worked doubles every day this week. I have a
friend I have to take care of." Her manager looked down his nose at her. She
was certain he had no friends and liked to jealously take out his
frustration on those who did.

"Fine."

She knew there would be something special for her in the schedule because of
that. Another week of doubles, or something. There wasn't much he could do
to her that wasn't already happening though.

She gritted her teeth. 2:53. She could feel him glaring at her. Seven more
minutes. Another customer. 2:56. Four minutes. She wondered what Jennifer
was doing right now. She wondered whether she was risking her manager's ire
for nothing.

The clock clicked to 3:00, she finished the customer she was checking out
and tapped her manager on the shoulder. "I'm out."

He glared at her again, nobody there to fill her place. "Alright, everyone.
We're down to one register." Customers shuffled, and Alyson had to fight
past them to get to the back of the store where the lockers were so she
could get her backpack and jacket.

She stepped out the back door of the store into the snow, now more than a
foot deep, and an icy blast blew down the alley and she stumbled a little,
more than slightly surprised. I haven't seen snow like this since I
was at home in the mountains, she thought. She fished around in her bag for
her scarf.  Blue, silk and wool yarn. She'd made it as a first knitting
project. She wrapped it around her face and remembered her mother's strong
hands showing her the motions for knitting. She'd made dozens of things as a
teenager, but the scarf was always a favorite. The yarn had been
painstakingly salvaged from one of her grandmother's old sweaters. Moths
had eaten one of the sleeves. Her mother had carefully separated the parts
and helped her unravel them.

She wound the scarf around her neck and remembered the winding motion, all
those balls of blue yarn, soft and scratchy at the same time. The prickle
against her face just made her remember all the more. 

She smiled, remembering the kittens they'd had that winter. They'd chased
the balls as she worked endlessly. Knit, knit, purl, pull the string from
the claws of the cats. Repeat. She tried to remember the patience she'd had
then. She wasn't so weary as she was now.

She thought of her cold apartment on the hill, thinking of the basket full
of yarn sitting by the recliner she'd salvaged. She had imagined sitting
there with a cup of tea, knitting in the evenings. Walls covered with
letters and photos of friends.  The walls were still blank. She'd come home
and collapsed every night. She wrote a few letters, got a few in return. She
hadn't had time to return half of those. Some nights it was a fight to make
dinner. Half of them, she made toast and collapsed into bed.

She trudged through the snow to 16th street. It tumbled over the top of her
boots and chilled her ankles. She sighed. She hadn't brought her snow gear,
still neatly packed into her room at her mother's house. No need, she'd
thought. The scarf she thought she might need, with cold winds blowing in
off the water, but snow she'd figured she'd have to travel to see.

She saw the church down the street and trudged to the fence. She saw the
faint dips in the snow where someone had walked into the alley and ducked
under a section of fence. I bet this is where they get in. She shrugged and
followed the path. She lifted the fence and slipped underneath. The tracks
led into the burned-out sanctuary. She stepped inside and shivered. 

Such a beautiful building, destroyed. She saw the stained glass, half of it
broken and much of the lead melted away. It's so sad, she thought. Beautiful
work, all of it. She mentally traced the roof beams, feeling how the place
fit together. So much dark wood, so much ornament, she thought. She
remembered the tiny, white-walled meeting place her mother had taken her to
every Sunday. She tried to imagine what the building looked like before the
fire. So rich.

She saw the damp tracks around the piles of rubble and into the office in
the back of the church. She took a deep breath, eyeing the roof beams
overhead, thinking they didn't look entirely sound. She shrugged and trudged
in. Her wet shoes made a harsh sound, too harsh for the silence of the
church. She shivered. 

The office was empty. She wondered if Jennifer was here. She shifted
uncomfortably, not sure whether to wait or to go when she noticed the little
door to the store-room. She pulled it open gently. Jennifer stirred and sat
up, blinking.

"Who's there?" More blinking as she woke more. "Oh! Alyson!" she exclaimed
in a hushed voice. "Hey, come on in. There's room for three." Alyson ducked
into the tiny room and slid on her hip in next to Jennifer.

"Wow. It's so tiny." 

Jennifer nodded. 

"Feels like it's warming up with three bodies, though."

Jennifer smiled.

"How is she?"

Jennifer bit her lip and shook her head. "Not so good."

Alyson nodded. "What's her name?"

"Raven." Raven stirred in her sleep, cried out a little, then stilled again.

"How high's her fever?"

"I don't know. It's so cold here, her skin feels cool. But if I cuddle up to
her, she's burning up in minutes. It's high, I think. I can't tell."
Jennifer whispered. "I'm scared."

Alyson smiled sadly and hugged Jennifer. "It's okay. It's going to be okay.
I have an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. She can't stay out here in this. It's too cold. Lets get her inside.
We can bring her back to my place."

"Really?" Jennifer looked relieved.

"You wouldn't be out here if she could go to your house. She can't stay out
here." 

"I couldn't... we couldn't."

Come on, come with me. It's the least I can do. Nobody else in this city is
going to help. "I mean it. I can't do much, but I do have warm and dry."

Jennfer nodded and prodded Raven.