The local Irish Pub buzzed with activity as Peter and MJ tried sitting down to a quiet dinner in a corner booth. The two TVs, hanging from the ceiling covering the sports news of the day, were completely ignored by the young couple in love. Since the day Mary Jane showed up at Peter's door and professed her love for him, through all the trials and tribulations, they had remained star-crossed lovers in each other's eyes.

There had been many scares in that brief time. At one point MJ planned to leave because she thought she couldn't handle Peter's death, which he had come so close toi. Another time, Pete was near to unmasking himself in an attempt to end a serial killer's murder spree on his behalfii. But they had endured. And tonight was a celebration that they made it this far; nine months, 1 week, 3 days and 2 hours. With an occasional glimpse outside looking at the snow, purely from habit when he heard sirens, Pete was able to relax and ignore New York's call for their tireless Superhero. The city had survived without him before, it can do so for a few more hours.

He gazed into pools of emerald green eyes as he listened to MJ's latest complaint about a compulsive fan. He didn't hear a word she said, he was just hypnotized in her mesmerizing orbs. The trance broke when she looked away.

"What's wrong, MJ?"

"Listen."

"I don't hear anything but the TV."

Turning back to look at her fiancé, "That's just it Peter. We're in a pub and no one's talking."

They peered around the high backboard of their booth and noticed everyone was riveted to the TV.

"…large fire aboard a freighter carrying highly flammable and explosive cargo. Several firefighters are now believed trapped below deck when an explosion destroyed the stairs," the newsman stated flatly with pictures of the blaze glowing behind him.

Mary Jane looked at Peter and saw the anguish in his eyes. So often she knew that he wanted to be with her, but was called away to duty. Tonight he made her a solemn promise to be with her. And he was keeping it. He said nothing and did not move. But she could read his face as easily as he read physics books. She also knew that this was a major disaster. From what she could hear, if that ship blew up it could take half of the city with it. In fact authorities were already starting an investigation as to why such a dangerous ship was allowed into New York's Harbor.

"Go Pete."

He broke his stare from the TV, "huh?"

"I said, 'go'."

"But…"

MJ raised her delicate hand to stop any further protest. "I know you want to keep your promise. But lives are at stake. Many lives. Lives that I know you can save. I can't be so selfish as to keep you to myself for just an evening's dinner when people stand the chance of never sharing another meal with a loved one again. Go!"

He hesitated.

"Go!"

Standing up and leaning over the table, he kissed her tenderly, lovingly and long. He was about to say, "I'll make it up to you," when he realized that he had said it too often, it was just his way of saying good-bye. He'll never make it up to her. He'd just have to try and spend another evening with her when there were no major crises.

He slipped out of the bar, quietly and quickly without anyone noticing a geek transforming into a superhero.

X o x o

Spider-man sat atop one of the warehouses at the dock watching the freighter burn in the middle of the harbor. The whole thing was ablaze. Even at that distance he could feel the heat through his costume and with it snowing. A few minutes ago, he had pulled a fireman aside and asked about the situation. Angst lined his face when the fireman said eleven firefighters were trapped under the flames in the belly of the boat. The firetugs were trying to put out the flames near a hatch which was the best chance for their escape. But the blaze was ravenously fed by the combustibles on board.

He sat there thinking. The fireman had mentioned that there was a cargo door on the side of the ship used for loading and unloading. It was just above the waterline normally but with the ship now listing, water covered the bottom couple of feet. The tugs couldn't get to it since the latches were at the bottom of the door.

"Think, Spidey. Think." He had two problems to work out. How to get out there and what to do when he got there. He looked at the gap and figured he could slingshot himself that far. Having done it numerous times before, he had to make sure his aim was true. He needed to land near the cargo door, and not in the inferno above, using enough force to go the distance but not so much as to splat onto the side.

He would not have hesitated even a moment going over there, but a small thread of fear left over from when a sniper almost ended his life still spun its own web through his emotionsiii. He knew he had to do it. And he was going to do it. He just needed more time to calculate what to do than what he would have done, say, just a year ago.

A small roman-candle-like explosion ripped from the stern of the boat, jarring Spider-man from his computing mode into action. He chose two buildings as the base for his slingshot. Webbing in place, he took a deep breath and started to stretch the gossamer thread. When he could go no farther, he let out a groan and shot himself through the air.

In what seemed like a soaring eternity, he wondered if he was nuts. First he thought he was going to fall short and end up in the water which wouldn't be so bad. But then it felt like he would overshoot and end up on the deck, a barbequed bug. When he realized that he was right on target, he feared he was going too fast and would end up impaling himself in the side of the ship.

"What was I thinking?" was his last thought before he struck the freighter. Although he hit harder than he would have liked, aim was perfect. He clung to the ship just inches away from the cargo hold door. He could feel the heat under his boots and through his gloves already.

"Spider-strength, don't fail me now!" He grabbed the upper corner of the bay doors and tried to pry them open.

"C'MON! GIVE!"

A groan escaped his lips as the blood vessels in his neck and temples bulged under the costume from the strain. His fingers snapped off the narrow crack bending back some fingernails. "Dammit, I can't get a good enough grip on the steel plate." In frustration, he pounded the corner of the hatch with his fist. He attacked it again and again. Even when blood from his mashed knuckles seeped through his glove, he continued to hit the corner of the door until the metal bent under the assault and the corner warped outward enabling a good solid grasp. Feet firmly planted against the hull of the ship, fingers gripped tightly on the door, he pulled. The latches squealed in complaint against the strain. With a final cry, the door peeled open, creating a hole large enough for a human to easily fit through.

Spider-man slipped inside and was almost overcome by the heat. "Where are you?" He knew the men were on this level, but this was a huge ship. He webbed as much as possible to avoid touching the scorching surfaces. He opened one water-tight door and peered down the smoke-filled hallway. "Where are you?"

He stopped for a moment. If he searched this level of the entire ship, he would be baked to well-done before he could save anyone. He had to think, where would the fire fighters go to get off the ship? To the hatch that the tugboats were trying to put out the fire at the bow!

Using the ceiling to attach his webbing, he swung down the corridor towards the front of the boat. Just as he approached a set of stairs, he saw someone rushing down them. "Hey, you!"

The fireman, startled, looked around, "Spider-man! What are you doing here?"

"That's a dumb question. Now where are the others?"

"Upstairs. How did you get in?"

"Through the cargo bay. I got it opened. Call the others. That's the only way out." Urgency threaded throughout Peter's voice.

The other firefighters responded to the radio call from their comrade and pouring down the stairs like water released from floodgates.

"Just go through the opening I made. Jump right into the water. The fireboat will pick you up," he instructed the lead man. He counted the men as they bounded down the stairs and around the corner out towards safety. When the last person was out, Spider-man looked up worried. He was told there were eleven men stuck in here. He counted only nine. Where were the other two? With the rest of the firemen out of voice range, he couldn't ask them where the two missing people were. He faltered. Time was running out and he knew it. But could he live with himself if he left without at least looking for the missing fire fighters? His actions answered the self-query. He climbed up the stairs and headed towards the bow of the ship. Up here the flames were licking out of the vents and curling under the ceiling. His heart was pounding "In A Gadda Da Vida" inside his chestiv. The more he searched the more he felt it was already too late for them. Too late for him.

X o x o

"C'mon, hurry!" A crewman aboard the firetug waved frantically at the last man in the water. "Hurry, she's gonna blow."

As the last of the firefighters scrambled on board, the tug turned and sped away. Motors smelled of burning oil as they were pushed beyond their capacity. "Where's Spider-man?" the last man asked. All he saw were head shakes and shrugged shoulders. "Didn't anyone see him come out?"

Anxiously he turned and faced the ship. "He's still in there! We have to go back and get him!" He turned to the boat captain, "Turn around. Go back!"

"No way. That freighter's going to blow. And even at this distance we'll all be flambéed if she does."

Even though he knew he could not be heard, he still yelled at the burning hulk, "Spider-man! Get out. Get out now!"

As the tug raced away, all eyes were on the floating inferno. Waiting. Waiting. Hoping to see Spider-man emerge from the only escape route.

X o x o

MJ opted to stay and eat since the food was already ordered. Besides, she could watch the news with the rest of the patrons. Sipping her diet coke she felt what she thought was an earthquake. Although rare, the east coast still had them and this sure felt like it. It wasn't until she heard gasps behind her that she looked back at the TV and saw that the cargo ship had exploded. The detonation took out the TV camera and the screen went blank.

She stared at the vacant set for a while until the bartender tried another channel. Ironically it was News4 New York that was still in operation. The only station that took video of the sniper attack on Spider-manv. "….. several warehouses are now on fire, and Dock #10 is fully engulfed. We haven't been able to see the rescue boat caught in the firestorm. Reports are coming in that windows have been blown out up to 5 miles away and the explosion could be felt as far away as NJ.

"Where's Spider-man?" MJ whispered. "Please tell me where he is."

A/N. The author generally releases new chapters within a week. If you notice no update then the muse got pissed. You don't want to piss off the muse! Reviews keep the muse very happy.

i See other Spider-man fanfic "Through Trials and Tribulations"

ii See other Spider-man fanfic "We All Can't Keep Secrets"

iii See other Spider-man fanfic "Through Trials and Tribulations"

iv Song by Iron Butterfly, one of the first songs to take up the entire side of an album

v See other Spider-man fanfic "Through Trials and Tribulations"