"Little one? I'm so sorry---Oh! Where are you?"
Maille had seen the spilled chemicals on the ground pretty quickly. The ones that she'd stuck me into.
"Little one?! Please tell me you're still in here! Please!"
Vaguely I heard her voice. I heard things rustling about.
"Where are you? Did Howard find you? Please, please, No. Please little one, be here. Where are you?"
The panic in her voice tugged at me, but I didn't have the strength to move anymore.
I might have gotten stuck to the floor, who knew what sort of stuff those cleaning agents have in them.
"LITTLE ONE!" She cried with relief.
Warmth once again enveloped me as I was picked up. "I'm so sorry little one! There wasn't anything I could do, are you still alright? I came back as soon as I could. Please tell me you are alright. I had to hide you in such a hurry. Oh! You're freezing! You're wet! Oh if this kills you, I'll never forgive myself." 
I curled up pressing against her warm hands, shivering as the warmth revived me a bit, but relaxing as well. She'd come back. She was taking me away from those horrible smells.
"I'm so sorry little one." she murmured. "I'm so. so sorry. You need to get dry, but we need to get those chemicals off of you, who knows how harmful they are! Oooh Howard has hit a new low." 
Maille rubbed me vigorously with a paper towel to mostly dry me off before placing me carefully back into her coats pocket. I remained listless through the process. 
Her heart I could hear her heart again. Really that was all I cared about. 
"I need to rinse you off little one." She whispered a bit later. I heard a click. She'd locked the door to the girl's bathroom. "I'll get that horrible cleaning smell off of you."
I'd become quite used to the smell, I just wanted to stay in her pocket and never come out again. In her pocket was safe. Anywhere else, wasn't safe, wasn't warm. 
I was proven wrong about being warm. Maille filled the sink with water. And gently placed me into it. The experience... wasn't the most pleasant. The sudden heat shocked me into thrashing in her hands, choaking on the warm water as I tried to cry out. "Hush, hush." she whispered. "Howard will find you. You don't want to smell like this right? I know this soap isn't your ideal smell either, but I don't want to have Howard suspicious of why I smell like cleaning agents." I didn't mind the smell, it was fruity. What I minded was being wet again. Warm wet was still wet! I suppose that this was one way to get more liquids into me, I'm sure I swallowed half the sink in my struggle. 
"There, that so bad was it?" 
Oh, nearly as bad as the medicine. She kept insisting all this was for my benefit, but as of now, it just made me more miserable.  "Oh, Little one, I can't promise it won't happen again, but don't worry. I'll always come back." She said as she gently rubbed me dry and placed me back into the comfort of her heart beat.  "We only have a little less then an hour before I can take you home, you'll get better there without Howard breathing down our necks."
I didn't know what home she was talking about. Here. Now. This was home.

Martin Elek