**4 years ago***

Joshua Balz and his girlfriend, Ryan Ashley Malarkey finally arrived safely to their job, the Strange & Unusual Oddities Parlor.

It was another snowy day in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and though the early snow fall was soft, last night wasn't so kind, neither was it harsh.

You can say it was just how cold it was. Jack Frost held no mercy towards the small town.

"Josh, I'll park out back," Ryan Ashley said to her lover. "Take Toronto and Casper outside so we can clear out the snow from the pathway."

"Got it," he said, climbing out, then getting the dog carriers that held their two Pomeranian dogs, and headed to the door, unlocking it and hurrying inside to warm the place up. He was thankful it wasn't horribly cold inside, but it was a little chilly.

He let the dogs roam free before turning on the heat and then getting the snow shovel from storage and heading outside.

As he started to clear the snow, an odd noise echoed in the empty morning streets.

He stopped and looked around. It sounded like an infant crying.

He dropped the shovel and following the sound.

It lead him to the corner of the store in the alleyway.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" he asked, slightly nervous as the cries continued. He looked around before he noticed something huddled near some boxes.

He gasped when he realized what it was.

A woman, wearing nothing but a tank top and a long skirt and brown fringe boots.

"Oh god. Miss, are you okay?" Josh asked, approaching her, the crying getting louder.

She didn't even flinch or move.

He got closer and noticed she held a small bundle of clothes.

I touched her arm and realized she was literally as cold as ice.

I also noticed horrible black and purple bruises all over her arms.

I lifted her head a little and the bundle moved, and I gasped as I removed a piece of cloth.

She held a baby in her arms. The baby wailed and shivered in her mother's cold embrace, covered in a leather jacket and a sweater and pink baby blanket.

That's when it all started to set in.

This woman is dead. She died trying to save her daughter from freezing to death.

"Oh my god," Joshua said as he looked around, seeing nobody.

He needed to alert someone. But first get this baby somewhere safe. He didn't want to abandon the baby.

"I promise, I'll protect her," he said to the deceased mother has he got the child from her.

He held the wailing child close to him as he then got up and rushed back to the store.

The infant stopped crying but whimpered a little loudly from the cold.

Joshua then ran in and saw that Ryan Ashley was already there.

"Ryan, call 9-11," he said urgently.

She looked up and gasped. "Josh! Where do you get that baby?!"

"Outside. She and her mother were in the snow," he said as Ryan Ashley rushed over.

"She's shivering, we need to get her warm," she said.

"I'll take care of that, you call someone to say the mother is dead, at the corner of the store near the dumpster in the alley," he ordered.

She nodded before grabbing her phone and jacket and rushing out.

Joshua hurried to the back of the store, where his girlfriend does her tattoo appointments, and grabbed a nearby heater and turned it on before peeling off the frozen clothes and grabbing his spare sweater and a spare blanket they kept around and laid the baby on the vintage sofa before wrapping her up.

He noticed a locket around her neck, removing it and opened it to reveal a picture of what looked like an old portrait of a middle-aged man.

Joshua frowned before closing the antique locket and putting it in his pocket.

The baby soon was calm and her eyes opened, revealing big sparkly blue eyes.

He couldn't help but smile. "Hey, its okay. You're alright," he said.

She looked up curiously at the bald tattooed man and reached up to him.

He picked her up and she start to poke his angel bites curiously.

Poor kid, doesn't have a family or anything. God only knows where her father was, but Joshua had a feeling that the father of this baby is the reason her mother is dead.

He then grabbed his phone and called his friend, Ricky.

"Hello?" Ricky's sleepy voice mumbled.

"Wake Chris and call the others. There's an emergency at the shop, and I need you to bring some stuff from the store," he said.

"Emergency?" Ricky asked. "I'll wake him, but what do you need?"

"You're gonna think I'm crazy, but I need a baby bottle, baby food, some blankets, whatever a baby can eat or can be used. Don't ask questions, just get Sabrina or Kylie to help you. I'll explain when you get here," he said.

Ricky was confused and didn't know what this all meant, but he agreed to call his friend's partner and soon meet there.

It didn't take long for police and ambulance to arrive, placing the baby's frozen mother in a body bag and taking her to a coroner.

We agreed to bury her, but since we didn't know her mother name, unfortunately, she had to be buried under the name "Jane Doe" unless she was identified.

Joshua's band had also arrived in time and their friend explained the ordeal, as well as explained to the police what had happened before they left, the baby in his arms warmed up by warmer blankets.

"But what's her name?" Ricky asked as the baby observed a rat necklace around Joshua's neck, and proceed to teeth on it before Joshua pulled it gently away from her grasp.

"We don't know. We don't even know her mother's name," Ryan Ashley said.

"But then what now? I mean... She's all alone, and she shouldn't be in the foster system," Chris said. "It'll be hell for the kid, especially after this."

They looked around before Joshua spoke.

"Unless... We take her in?" He said to his girlfriend.

Her eyes widen. "You mean... Adopt her, raise her?"

I nodded. "She has nobody, Ryan."

She was quiet as she thought. "Can we manage? I mean, you tour a lot and... I work..."

"I'm sure we can. We'll find a way. But I just don't her ending up with people like her father. If anything, he's probably the reason her mother ended up freezing to death," Josh said.

"Not to mention she'll be a part of the system, and be brainwashed into believing our government isn't corrupt and manipulate. She'll be like one of their own little robots," Ricky, being the conspiracy theorist he is, said, earning him a smack in the back of the head from Chris. "Ow!"

Ryan Ashley looked down at the infant and she couldn't help but smile as the baby poked her cheek.

"I mean, it'll be a lot of paperwork, and sleepless nights... But I'm in if you are," she smiled.

Josh smiled as they leaned in and kissed, admiring the new member of the family.

"But then what will we name her?" Vinny asked as he stroked the baby's cheek gently with this .

"Hmmm....." I said, and the saw as a snowflake fell on her little nose, making her sneeze softly like a mouse. It was too cute.

Joshua chuckled softly and had an idea.

"How about Snow?" he asked.

His friends looked at him, but it was Ryan Ashley spoke first.

"I like it," she smiled.

"Me too," Ricky said, leading to everyone agreeing.

"Then its settled. As leader I hearby welcome little Snow Balz into this fucked up little family," Chris smirked and they all laughed at his joke, making Joshua roll his eyes.

Snow then gave us a small toothless smile as she looked up at Joshua.

Joshua swore then and there to always protect Snow and raise her as his own.

~~~

Picture: Baby Snow

New story I'm starting. Please be sure to leave comments and let me know what you all think so far.

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