Walking Through Fire
By Tiger

                     I

Eric Carr watched her sleeping form on the bed, as he 
couldnt go to sleep yet. She had gone thru hell and 
back again with this. He smiled to himself as he 
recalled her apology to both him and Eric Singer... 
especially after the pounding she gave the other Eric 
during the demon conquering phase. She was completely 
worn out. She was calmer now and had changed during 
the ordeal. He ruffled her hair with a grin. He 
stretched out on her bed beside her and just held her. 
It just felt right. A devilish grin spread across 
Paul's face as he watched from the doorway, unknown to 
both Eric Carr and Tiger, but wisely he kept his 
observations to himself. He turned and saw Gene there, 
also observing the two. "Girl will make it, that is 
for damned sure!" "Seems like she has at least one 
admirer" Gene observed dryly. "She aint no Amazon, but 
she IS a Tiger!" Paul grinned. "C'mon, lets split 
before we wake the both of them up! Besides.... He 
isnt her only admirer" Gene shot him a look, which was 
ignored. Tiger woke up before the sun rose... She 
noticed that the Fox was still curled up next to her, 
holding her. She smiled and gave him a gentle feather 
kiss and slid out of his arms as not to wake him. She 
padded silently down the hall. The rest were about to 
go to bed. Seeing that, she slipped back outside on 
the deck, to watch the sun rise. Eric Singer noticed 
as did everyone else that she was outside. Tiger said 
her prayers as she had done for years. She took in the 
quiet beauty of the sunrise. Before she could move, 
Bruce brought her a glass of hot tea. She smiled her 
thanks at him. "You're up early" He noted as the rest 
of the band, including the Fox tumbled out onto the 
deck. Paul waved her down into a seat when she offered 
to go get everyone coffee. Amy beat her by bringing 
coffee to everyone. "You should be in bed".... The Fox 
spoke..."I know, this is just something I have done 
since before the Wilderness thing.. It is a deeply 
ingrained habit.... "Eric, are you sure you are all 
right... I went beserk at the last, and I apologize... 
I thought that you WERE Mark!" the acute embarrasment 
and worry was thick in her voice. Eric Singer reached 
out and gave her a gentle hug "No worries 
Tiger-girl... I knew what I was getting into when I 
agreed to do this, so no more apologies... I'm fine!" 
She nodded her understanding. Raven spoke "Tiger, how 
do you really feel, besides all the exhaustion and 
pain?" Tiger answered slowly"... Better, stronger in 
both mind, body and spirit. It's like tempering a 
sword, if you will. In the process of tempering and 
forging, the sword appears, for want of a different 
analogy."Before everyone finished talking and headed 
for their respective rooms, Tiger had a bit of a 
disturbing question for them all, but she asked Raven 
to ask the question. Raven asked, and the looks she 
got told her that something else was wrong... "Guys, 
please be careful with him.... I am aware of the 
tricks that have been done, but for some reason, I 
don't think that he is finished with everyone yet.... 
Don't ask me to explain this." Gene eyed her with 
interest. "You psychic?" A deeply drawn out sigh. "Yes 
and more. Do with that what you will". The Fox talked 
her into returning to her bed. The rest sat in silence 
after she had left. Raven cleared her throat... Tiger 
has quite a few abilities. Those she keeps wrapped up 
so only those who are truly close to her know about 
it." That said... they all went to bed and went to sleep


                     II

After Raven, Shea and the guys had finally left, 
things were getting back down to normal...until Tiger 
came down with some health problems... she was just 
heading out the door for a doctor's appointment, when 
she saw the letter... Her blood froze as she read its 
contents. She phoned Gene, and Shannon answered. Tiger 
explained what was going on, who she was and faxed a 
copy of the letter to Gene... Then left for the 
Doctor's office. Shannon was enraged at first, then 
when she saw the letter Tiger had faxed to Gene, she 
went and got him, telling him what Tiger had said. 
Gene's face turned thunderous as he read the contents 
of the leetter. He got the guys on conference call 
immediately. Paul was worried, as were the rest... 
Eric Carr sounded murderous. Gene dialed Tiger's phone 
which was answered by Amy. "No she isn't here... hang 
on, Sis!!! what in the hell is wrong?" "I've got to 
have an emergency procedure for the thyroid tomorrow 
morning... They are going to irradiate it, for if it 
gets any larger, they will have to operate. Then they 
will put me on meds. I'll be weaker than a kitten for 
about four days. Gene's voice boomed out of the 
phone.. "What time tomorrow ?" "10 am. I take it you 
got the message. Please tell Shannon I wasn't trying 
to upset her or anything like that. I felt you and the 
guys neded to know." She knows" Gene boomed. "Go lay 
down and rest." Paul told her. She nodded agreement. 
Plans were made to hustle Tiger into safety after the 
procedure.  
 
The next morning, she was as nervous as a cat having 
kittens. She lay in the procedure room with fire 
burning through her veins and her neck. It hurt, but 
she bore it. Everyone made their way into the waiting 
room and introductions were made. All was in place. 
"Phillips Family?" the nurse called out. Amy rose up. 
The nurse came over and spoke with all of them, 
telling them what to expect. "She will be out of 
recovery soon and will be able to go home. One of you 
can go back and see her." Eric volunteered, as he 
desperately wanted to see her. Her eyes were closed as 
she lay there. They opened when a gentle touch across 
her forehead startled her... She was too tired to 
talk, but her eyes lit up when she saw him. He leaned 
down, kissing her softly, a little worried when he 
felt how hot she was. He helped her up and leaning on 
him, she saw the rest as they both rounded the corner. 
She gave a weak thumbs up. Both Erics were throwing 
fits about her walking, so she reluctantly was carried 
into a waiting car and brought home.


                    III

Tiger was carried to her room to rest before making 
the flight out. Eric Carr stayed with her the entire 
time, as did Ace and Bruce. They were understandably 
upset because she hadn't told anyone... She apologized 
weakly. They all eventually forgave her. All of them 
did. She was under everyone's watchful eyes as she was 
sandwiched between Paul, Bruce, and Eric Carr. Raven, 
Shea and Shannon were going to meet them at the 
airport, when the flight got in. Tiger was quiet as 
they boarded. Eric Carr's hand silently snuck up into 
hers and he gave it a gentle squeeze. Her eyes lit up 
and she squeezed back. She closed her eyes and slept 
most of the way to a safe place.... even she didn't 
know where she was going....She didn't understand why 
they would go through all that trouble just for one 
girl... Eric knew she didn't understand, and as soon 
as she was asleep, keeping his voice low told the rest 
that. "Gonna have to have a talk with that girl, as 
soon as she is well enough..." Paul growled, just a 
little. Eric Singer agreed... "Tiger - girl will 
understand!" The rest nodded agreement. As soon as the 
aircraft landed they all were whisked away to safety. 
Tiger was already asleep, surprisingly enough Bruce 
carried her to where she would be... She didnt wake up 
for a long time after. Groggily, she lifted her head 
only to feel a gentle touch gently pressing her back 
down onto the bed. "Who?" came out in a very raspy 
voice. "Who else?" came Eric's mischievious voice... 
"A few friends" came out of the darkness surrounding 
her. That had to be Gene. "Water" she rasped...She 
could talk better after she drank something... "Where 
am I?" "Someplace that Vinnie won't find you." Paul's 
voice came out of the darkness. "Dr says you are to 
rest WOMAN, and that is what you are gonna do, got 
it!" came from Eric Singer.. She nodded, feeling tears 
stinging her eyes. Bruce felt the tears as did Eric... 
"Easy... It's all right.... Rest now". 
She did as asdked.... Too tired to even try and fight 
the bone weary exhaustion.


                     IV
                    
She woke up again later... she was very disoriented. 
Strong, gentle hands held her up to a sitting 
position. She couldn't tell who it was. Finally, she 
was fully awake two days after the fact, and still 
shaky. She shook a litle as she rose from the bed... 
"ut uh little Tiger" came Eric Singer's voice through 
the door way. Picking her up, he carried her into the 
den... This was a place that she didnt recognize. "how 
are you feeling?" Paul asked, noting just how shaky 
she still was. "better, except for the shakiness." was 
her soft reply... Time to talk Tiger-girl... with all 
of us!" Eric's voice was a little rough. She nodded... 
Eric Singer noticed the look of dread on her face, and 
knew to take it easy.. this wasn't a time nor the need 
for such harshness. Bruce, Ace and Eric Carr sat 
beside her while Pete, Gene and Paul were in front of 
her... .They had a no holds barred talk about what had 
happened, and just why they were doing this protection 
for her. They knew it was a shock to her to think of 
herself as that way. Eric asked her the question "why 
did you interfere in that fight?"... She was trapped 
unless she told him the truth. "I know that the Fox 
can take care of himself, and in truth, I should not 
have jumped into that fight, but I gave in to my 
protective instinct after I saw the knife... I know it 
sounds stupid, but there you have it... I am not known 
for pulling such stunts Three to four against one is 
unfair odds in any case. No matter who it is." "Of all 
the BONEHEADED....." A look from the Fox stopped that 
statement cold. "Would you do that again" Gene asked 
bluntly.... "No" Tiger said tiredly..."even if it goes 
against everything I have been trained for and to 
do."That said, she became silent. The talk lasted for 
a long time. When she returned to bed, she silently 
cried... Deep in her heart, she knew she would 
protect, even if they didn't understand, and not just 
Eric either! How could she explain hwo she felt... God 
knows she had tried to explain that. She knew they 
didn't need protectors!. She silently cried herself to sleep.


                     V

She regained her strength rapidly after that. She 
insisted on helping in any way that she could. Then 
she got cursed out. She fled into her room and stayed 
there. Silent tears streamed down her face and into 
the pillow. Now she really felt like she was walking 
thru fire... She packed quickly... and slid out... 
This wasn't like her at all. She stopped and slipped 
back in.. She wasn't about to run again. The door 
opened, she kept herself extremely still. Paul wasn't 
fooled. He knew she was awake and had almost run 
away... He and the rest knew for a fact that she 
wasn't crazy. "girl..." she rolled over and looked at 
him, her face still tear streaked. They both talked 
for a while. He sent Ace in as he went to talk to Eric 
Carr. Ace started cracking jokes and Tiger finally 
started laughing at them. She called her doctor and 
was making plans to recondition herself back to her 
karate days... This time, no one shot her down on 
that. Ace kept shooting her with a water gun, just to 
give a little motivation. He almost overdid it one 
day, when she threatened to kick him into the pool! 
There was quite a bit of laughter to that. The girls 
were amazed at how quick Tiger's fighting and strength 
of spirit came back. Finally she was back almost in 
top form... She thought the guys would let her go 
back, but she was wrong on that count. Letters were 
arriving daily... She heard the fear in her sisters 
voice. Gene saw an extremely angry look cross Tiger's 
face, as she heard Amy's fear. "Sis, don't come home 
yet." "If it is a damned fight he wants, its one he'll 
get!" Tiger snarled angrily...."NO ONE messes with 
family or friends either!" She stormed out of the 
room, trying to keep ahold of her temper. She sat on 
the bed so angry she could have given herself a 
stroke. It wasnt right... To threaten her was one 
thing... Her family and friends, including the guys, 
that was a shooting match of another kind.. Eric Carr 
and she argued for two hours over it. Their voices 
reached into the den. "Time to stop this fight.." Paul 
said grimly... He knew that Tiger's heart was in the 
right place. But just as he reached the door the 
fighting had stopped. there was dead silence in the 
room. 


                     VI

He cautiously opened the door and burst out laughing 
as he shut it quickly... Eric had things under 
control! Eric and Tiger were talking in more muted 
voices. He grinned. Eric was a stinker.... Eric and 
Tiger had finished talking when they heard the 
Starchild's laugh.... Both just grinned, having got 
the fight out of their blood! "Now where were we?!" 
Eric's devilish laugh rang out, as his smile grew 
extremely devilish...Paul stopped Gene short... "man 
it's cool... Carr has it under control!" he chuckled. 
They both heard the footsteps receding down the hall, 
as both Gene and Paul left them alone. Eric's lips 
brushed gently across hers in a gentle kiss that 
turned wild and passionate in a heartbeat. The kiss 
triggered a wild hunger in him and her. She was the 
one he wanted, not just now, but for as long as he 
could have her...She had been right under his nose the 
entire time. "Come take my heart" he whispered to her. 
as her hands gently tangled in his hair "Come take 
mine" her husky whisper filled the air between them 
 
 
                    VII

He moved closer to her, his eyes deeper than brown 
velvet, hunger burning through him, as he lowered his 
head to hers, taking his time. Hands moved of their 
own volition into her hair, pulling her closer to him. 
Closer and closer they moved... lost in the moment, 
the feelings, the passion. Mouths blended over and 
over as the heat rose between them. Clothes whispered 
away, leaving warm skin between them. The heat rose as 
touch after touch filled them with an insatiable 
hunger for one another. Scalding lips brushed against 
bare skin. Laying her down on the bed, he was struck 
by her strength and passion, as well as her beauty. 
He rose above her eyes dark with passion and hunger. 
Over and over again they loved.  Both fell asleep 
tangled together... Paul opened the door a crack, and 
noticed both tangled up asleep. He just shook his head 
and closed the door.


                    VIII

Vinnie was angered... he could not find Tiger nor her 
family... It was as if they had vanished into thin 
air.. Meanwhile. Tiger and Eric Carr had grown 
extremely close. He had gone out with the guys, when 
Tiger experienced a thyroid storm so severe, that she 
completely collapsed. Shannon found her on the floor 
of the den, burning with fever, writhing in pain... 
Shannon called Gene and explained the situation as she 
rushed Tiger to the hospital. They admitted her 
immediately. She woke up in a fog of pain and fever, 
crying out for Eric. She slipped into a fevered sleep, 
unaware of anything else. She woke three days later, 
having finally undergone surgery to remove the 
thyroid. She gingerly opened her eyes, as she felt a 
gentle hand brush across her face. She looked up to 
see Eric sitting there, worry and tension plainly 
written in his face, body and eyes. "Beautiful?!" he 
whispered as he noticed her eyes were open. She smiled 
a very weak smile and reached for him. He gently and 
gingerly sat on the bed and explained part of what had 
happened. The Doctor came in and after examining her, 
explained the rest. She was stunned to say the 
least.... The radiation treatment hadn't worked, so 
they had to .... hell she knew the rest. She didnt 
know what to say or do, her thoughts were so cloudy. 
Eric just stroked her hair and talked to her, 
reasuuring her. The guys came in along with the 
girls... Tiger mimed writing, so Eric slid her a pen 
and paper. He handed Shannon the note. It was still 
hard for her to talk. To her IMMENSE relief Shannon 
leaned over and whispered something into her ear... 
She grinned just a little. Eric smiled, knowing she 
was safe and healing. "We couldn't get this guy to 
even leave your side!" Paul said quietly. Tiger nodded 
in understanding. She wrote again and this time Eric 
read the message aloud. the note read..."I know... I 
would do the exact same thing if the situation was 
reversed, for him and all of you." The stunned looks 
were a bit priceless. She wrote again "Don't be so 
stunned at that.....Everyone knows me better than that 
by now. Or should." Tigers eyes were starting to 
close... she was so tired. She fell asleep, Eric still 
by her side.


                     IX

Six weeks later.... 
 
Tiger was doing better. Her nickname became "Taz" as 
she was bound and determined to make up for lost time, 
but at the same time, she had to be sure not to overdo 
it. Ace and Tiger were verbally swatting one another 
with one liners... Eric Carr just grinned... She had a 
lot of fire in her.. that was certain. The laughter 
became raucous as the one liner contest was entered by 
the rest. Tiger laughed until she hurt. This was 
completely hilarous! The one liners flew fast and 
furious.. Finally she had to concede defeat, or die 
laughing! "White Flag!" she gasped laughing "I 
surrender!" "Chicken!" Eric teased her... "I'm not 
going to put the tag line on that one.." she smirked, 
shooting him a knowing grin. "Dare ya!" he retorted... 
with an even more devilish grin and a knowing look in 
his eyes. "Eat me raw then!" she spouted... then 
blushed beet red. He leaned over and whispered as the 
guys really teased her about that one, "You bet!" This 
made her blush crimson....She look around and spied 
the ice in her drink. An evil look entered her eyes. 
"This will cool you off!" she chuckled evilly as she 
slid the ice down his shirt and he yelped. She took 
off, knowing he was after her. She grabbed a pillow 
and tossed it at him, trying to distract him...No 
dice... "kids" Gene chuckled as Eric was on one side 
of the couch, Tiger on the other, breathless with 
laughter. The comments really flew fast then, as the 
two chased one another around the couch, then around 
the room. Tiger's yip of surprise as Eric finally 
cornered her got them all laughing again. "Gotcha! Now 
what do I do with a Tazmanian she devil?!" Then he 
chuckled evilly" Heh.. I know...Tazmanian she devil 
messed with wrong Tazmanian HE devil. You MINE!!!!!" 
he said in his best Taz voice. So saying that, he 
picked her up and carted her off somewhere private, to 
the knowing grins and smirks. She was breathless and 
speechless at that one!


                     X

Tiger had gotten much stronger and things were going 
well until Vinnie showed his head again. Nickolas gave 
Tiger the phone but raced and told his dad something 
was wrong...bad wrong. At the look on his son's face 
he put it on speakerphone, alarmed when Nickolas told 
him that it was Vinnie. "Tiger, a present is coming 
your way... AND YOU ARE NEXT!!!" "Really?! If I go 
down, it won't be alone!" Tiger quietly hung up the 
phone, her warrior blood screaming thru her ears. 
"Figures Gene would be on the phone listening in.. in 
case you're wondering, DEMON, I found out where she 
was thru Marcus... You remember Marcus.. the one you 
just fired..." The phone clicked off... Tiger knew 
after searching the house that Eric wasn't there. Her 
blood began to boil. As Eric staggered in, she moved 
and let him lean on her. She got him to the couch and 
asked for what she needed. She checked his ribs and 
accidently got punched. She shook her head and got 
back up and reassured Eric that he was safe..."Damn" 
she spat out angrily.. "broken ribs and a mild 
concussion... He needs to get checked out, pronto!" 
When she looked up, the rage in her eyes made everyone 
step back a minute... This was a different Tiger than 
before. One they had never seen before.. Eric was 
taken to the hospital, and as he had done for her, she 
stayed the entire time by his side, even once they got 
back. She would not leave his side. She was thankful 
that Gene nor the rest had vetoed her doing some sort 
of physical reconditioning. Finally they managed to 
pull Tiger away from Eric. The argument was fairly 
vocal, but she won the argument.. which in itself was 
a miracle as she faced all of the guys down with one 
simple argument.. "LOOK! If Vinnie found me here, he 
can do it eventually anywhere. I AM NOT RUNNING again! 
Did you think the classes I took were just for 
reconditioning?! Besides that, if I hadn't gotten 
involved when they were fighting the first time, He 
would still be after Eric and we all know it! There is 
no love lost between those two. I knew what I was 
doing when I did it the first time. And I accept the 
responsibility for that!" Her anger was really fierce, 
but she reined it in... "No sense trying to talk any 
sense into you.. You wont listen... go ahead get 
killed and see what happens to Eric!" Paul exploded at 
her. She stood her ground. "Star Child, I dont plan on 
getting killed. I just can't keep running. If that 
means going into the fire then that is what it means. 
It is my fault in a way that Vinnie is after me, yes. 
I am not the type that can just stand by and do 
nothing. Yes, it was foolish in hindsight that I got 
involved, but I dont regret my actions at the time. I 
have stronger survival instincts that I show. IF I go 
down, he will too.. one way or another." That said, 
she returned to Eric's side.