Jessie's first thought was a flamethrower.

Thick black smoke crept through the kitchen doors and began to climb higher until it spread in waves across the ceiling. Jessie stopped doodling a drawing of a cat on her notepad and froze in shock.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

"Well don't just sit there! Do something!" An elderly gentleman in a tweed jacket exclaimed, eyebrows rising up to meet his recoding hairline. People were running from the cafe area, unsure what to do but knowing to get out.

"Oh, right!" She squeaked, jumping down from her chair and passing through the flap in the reception desk. Her black converse carried her hurriedly into the cafe area, her heart beating and arms shaking slightly at her side. Alarms had started shrieking around her, a baby had started crying and people were jogging from the courts to the exit.

Jay's lost the plot, she thought, he's finally gone over the edge, flamethrower in hand, ready to set the tennis centre alight in embers and send the place crumbling into ash. He often joked about such things when he was arguing with Sophia or when his job got too much 'sometimes I feel like setting the place alight with a flamethrower' he'd joke.

Jessie ground to a halt as an glowing orange light reflected on the doors glossy white paint. Then seconds later Eddie appeared, a panicked expression across his face as in his oven-gloved hands he held none other than a microwave in flames.

"Eddie! Drop it!" She yelled, sprinting for the fire extinguisher. After struggling for a minute or so, she managed to shift it from its tight grip on the wall and ran over to him where he had dropped the microwave due to pain.

"Move!" Her hand squeezed the pump and a flurry of foam shot out, coating the floor, the microwave and Eddie who had not managed to dodge the flow in time. The flames disappeared in seconds and people had stopped running to turn around and look over.

The smoke slowly stopped leaving a dark mark on the ceiling and people started to calm down and those who had flocked outside return from the car park.

"Sorry everyone!" A voice said behind her, she turned and rolled her eyes to see none other than Peter ushering people in and giving a reassuring smile to worried old ladies and mothers with small children. His hazel eyes meet the identical ones belonging to Jessie and her eyebrows furrow in frustration.

To this he grins slyly and winks at her. From where Eddie still lays in his own misfortune he can almost see the heat radiating off of Jessie's curly hair from how angry she is.

"Peter! I swear to..." she began to shriek but the faint cry of help from Eddie cut her across.

"J-Jessie, he-help" he reached up a trembling arm, revealing his blistering arms (despite the oven gloves) dusted with soot and lathered with foam. The fabric band that he wore over his wavy auburn hair seeming useless now.

"Oh my god, Eddie!" Jessie's voice raised a few octaves in an extremely worried tone, she bent down to help Eddie scramble to his feet. Letting him grab onto her for support as he wavered uncertainty.

"Are you...are you okay?"

"What? Oh...y-yes I'm fine" he stuttered, not being able to look her in the eyes. Down casting his own to the floor uncomfortably. He was normally like this, but his eyes key flickering open and closed like he was feeling faint and he didn't seem to be able to stand without her. She felt a chill go down her spine at the thought.

She went to take his arm in a comforting matter, staring at his form, smothered in foam with soot swept in random sections of his body. But as her gentle fingertips brushed his forearm he cried out in pain, staggering back and falling back to the floor due to the intensity of the pain that thumped along his arms.

"Peter!" She screeched at her brother who was nearer to a phone "call 999!" She glanced down at the red raw patchy peeling skin of his arms and felt the tears burning in her eyes as she watched Eddie's face go ashen with fear. "Quickly!" She added.

Peter nodded, launching himself over the desk, scattering various office supplies to the floor as he made a grab for the reception phone.

***

Marie sighed loudly as she rapidly scribbled her signature on the form so that Eddie could go in the ambulance.

"Ah fuck, wrong surname" she pouted, striking the loopy writing through and then doing it again with her newly adopted surname.

Peter frowned as she did so, looking up at her and examining her facial expression. She looked thoroughly pissed, but if he recalled, she already was in a bad mood when she started this morning.

"Jess" she called out to Jessie who was beginning to climb into the ambulance after Eddie "are you sure you're okay going with him?"

"Yes don't worry I've got it" Jessie smiled weakly, still quite shaken up, they could just make out a shaky pink arm that extended for Jess to take and that was all they saw of Eddie as she then disappeared further into the van and the paramedic shut the door behind them.

"I don't believe this" Marie groaned, watching as the loud siren erupted and the blue lights flashed. "Our best tennis player getting what could be a skill-effecting injury just before the quarter finals. This is just my luck"

"What do you mean?" Peter questioned, tilting his head as he tried to figure out why his usually happy colleague and friend had suddenly gotten all miserable.

"It's nothing Pete, don't worry" she smiled. "Alert the cleaners of the mess and I'll see if I can get a replacement microwave on the budget"

Peter shook his head and tried to forget about it.

"Marie, it's not just about his tennis playing, he is an actual human, he has feelings"

She sighed, looking over at him from where she had now settled to take over from Jessie's absence. Peter, who was teasing Jessie just half an hour ago, was now himself looking shaken and worried not only for Eddie but his dear twin sister who was just seconds younger than him.

"Oh Pete" she cooed as his lip trembled slightly. "Come here my lovely".

Pete stumbled through the hatch and ran at her in a hug, wrapping his arms around her. Marie staggered back, eyes widening with shock as she caught herself by latching onto him. She sighed, patting him comfortably. Although Jessie and Peter argued til the cows came home, they really were very close and she knew deep down they very much cared for each other.

Two firefighters and three policemen showed up not long later. Marie had replaced Jessie's shift with her own and had managed to sort something out with someone else working in the offices behind and through the door on tight.

She had had to close of the cafe in the mean time whilst they got everything inspected, just in case there was something harmful in there.

"All clear, he must've grabbed the microwave pretty quickly, no damage except to the paintwork. The carpet area where he dropped it however..." the firefighter with a heavy moustache addressed in a Liverpudlian accent.

"Thank you so much. And yes, it's no issue, we'll get the carpet people and the painters in, our insurance will cover it" Marie nodded, making a note on the pad that she had resting next to the reception computers. She tapped her freshly manicured coral nails against it as the policemen addressed her next.

"And the person who suffered burns and who caused the accident was named Eddie correct?" The blonde, Swedish sounding policeman didn't look at her as he talked, scribbling in his journalist-like pad as he spoke.

"Yes. Eddie or Edward Atwood"

"He's quite famous around here isn't he?" The second office said, surveying Marie from down his longish nose and with furrowed bushy eyebrows.

"Yeah you could say that"

"Are you the manager of this establishment miss?" He continued, looking around as to look for someone who looked more professional.

"Yes Sir, promoted just three months ago after my predecessor went on to better and bigger things. Also, I have already contacted the owner and he said that any extra costs that are not covered by the budget or insurance he will pay, such as maybe replacing some of the ceiling tiles"

"Ah M'am, we can have a try at scrubbing off the soot if you would like, just in case some of the harmful chemicals from the plastic in the microwave is amongst it" the fireman who hadn't spoken yet pointed out.

"Oh if you wouldn't mind that would be great; I'll get Imogen to make you some tea, you can pull up some chairs to help you. Is that all the information you need officers?"

"How old are you, the witness and the victim if you don't mind..?"

"I'm twenty seven, Jessie or Jessica is twenty and Eddie is twenty three"

"Okay that'll be all, we'll call the centre and ask for you if we have any other problems, what's the name of this place again?"

She smiled proudly at that. "Surrey Tennis Centre, home of the Eager Evergreens" she beamed and motioned at the wall of fame, the policemen smiled and nodded.

"That'll be all, thank you and good day"

"Imogen! Stop looking at pictures of whatshisname and make this nice gentlemen some tea will you! You'll want to use the office kettle though"

Imogen poked her head out from the office door and scowled at her boss who looked very smug about getting Leo's name wrong.

"It's Leonardo DiCaprio firstly, you know that, he's only an oscar winner!"

"Eventually" Marie said, the corners of her mouth twitching as she pretended to be invested in her emails.

Imogen gasped. "You take that back!"

"Imogen. The tea please"

"Fine! But Jack didn't sacrifice himself for Rose for nothing just so you know, and stop changing my wallpaper to Andy Murray!" She said with an angry twinge to her voice, marching over to ask the firefighters how they liked their tea.

On her return, Marie added: "yes, but at least Murray actually relates to the job that you're working, you know in a tennis centre?".

"Okay Marie, I don't like this strange mood you're in, I don't know if this you being pre-married or Eddie being in hospital, but you need to do the opposite of chill out and start being all bossy again"

Marie's forehead crinkled at her words, she stared at her reflection in the computer screen. She swirled in the office chair, glancing over her shoulder at one of her youngest employees who sometimes had a mouth bigger than what was best for her.

"So, you think I'm bossy?"

"I...um, no?"

"That's what I thought. Get back to work Imogen, those tea's won't make themselves"

"Yes Boss"

She slipped back through the office door with a slightly scared expression. Marie shook her head, glancing over at the text from her husband, she ignored them, instead analysing her never ending to do list and getting back to the task at hand.