I save you, you saved me (Charliesweb7 & RVJ94)

It was her off day, spending it running errands such as grocery shopping, working out and going to the bank. Which she was currently standing in line for. She didn't always get a full day off, so she needed to do as much as she could. The young woman sighed as she shifted her weight onto her other foot, crossing her arms across her full chest. She looked at the people in line in front of her, counting who there was. 5 people. 4 males and 1 female. The only other female was an older woman, short and hunched over a bit. It was odd that she was the youngest woman there.Not that matter really anyways.

It was an unbearably hot day in Dallas, a heat wave surging through the entire country. Which is why she was wearing a pair of white shorts and a lime green tank top over a pair of flip flops. She had tanned skin, her standing about 5’ 6” with a very curvy body. She was not that big but she certainly had the curves in the perfect places. Leaning more towards plus sized rather than a model runway size. Toned and lean figure, large breasts, smaller waist, bigger hips, strong legs, and a nice rear. It was due to her being a swimmer and active most of her life. She had light freckling on her face which was mainly concentrated around her nose, under her eyes and cheeks. It was barely noticeable every day but in the right light it was seen. It gave her face character. Rich green eyes and brownish red hair completed her look. Her hair tumbled down her back in soft waves, ending right around her bra line in the back. Maybe a few inches past that. Amelia was looking forward to just relaxing at the pool later on today. She was glad to be back in Dallas. Perhaps she was there for a few reasons?

When Amelia Maxine Davenport was born, she had a heart defect. A rather large hole in her heart that was patched up a few days after she was born. She had really no troubles with for most of her life. Until she was 14. She progressively got worse over a few months, declining rather rapidly. Her heart was not working properly and a new mesh would not fix the problem. Her heart was too weak and the only option left was a transplant. She was immediately put on the transplant list, hoping they could find a perfect match before time was up. Each day went by and they looked bleaker and bleaker; no one was a match. She had to be put on a machine that kept her heart beating to keep her alive. Sometimes donors waited years before they got a transplant. She had months left. It seemed that she would die...until a tragic accident occurred. A 13 year old boy was killed by a drunk driver in the town over. And he turned out to be an exact match to Amelia. So she went into emergency surgery to have her new heart transplanted. Of course her family was thankful that Amelia was alive now, however sad for the other family. They wanted to contact the other family but could not due to privacy issues. 

So Amelia was living a normal life, only a small scar from the incision in surgery left to remind her physically. She had probably used so much cream to make that scar smaller. It had embarrassed her and she wanted to wear a bikini. She was an active swimmer and was able to do many things she never thought possible. Run a half marathon race. Go rock climbing. Travel. But she wanted to meet the other family. It had been something that had been nagging her for a while. She wanted to thank the other family for their son giving her a new life. Maybe become close to them? Not that she could ever replace their son but hopefully they would possibly accept her. So she researched and was able to track down the twin brother, Joseph Giordano, who was living in Dallas. Ironically, she got an offer from a hospital in Dallas to intern there. Hence, her being in Dallas. Also, she grew up around Dallas as well and her family still lived in the suburbs. Ever since she got her heart, she wanted to be a doctor. Amelia had finally tracked down the older brother and had been following him a bit. Well not like stalking him. Just googling him. He was a right wing forward for the Dallas Star. How would she approach him? Not like you could go up and say “Hi. You don’t know me but I got your brother's heart.” Like that would go over well. How often could you just casually meet a NHL hockey player? She didn’t know that much about him. She only knew where he worked and his looks. Maybe his favorite coffee place as he posted it on Facebook. He was a seriously incredibly attractive man, someone she wished to get to know. Maybe in due time...

~~~

A 5’ 10” man dressed in all black got ready. He had 2 black duffel bags and a rather large gun in his hands. He was prepping himself, then slipping the mask over his head. He nodded to the other 3 men, who pulled their masks over their face. They were almost ready. They were all roughly the same height, give or take a few inches. Roughly same build as well. Generally, they looked like they blended in with the normal population of males. They were in a van outside and then got out, leaving the last man in the drivers seat as the get away driver.

They soon busted into the bank, tending to their jobs. Guy A took care of the security cameras, spraying them black so no one could see. This wasn’t amateur hour. These guys seemed to know what they were doing. Guy B fired shots into the ceiling, screaming: “Everyone down on the floor or I shoot you!” Guy C took out the security guard, pumping 3 bullets into his chest with ease. “Hands on your head!” He screamed in a deep voice. Guy D headed over to the teller, waving the gun in her face. “If you press the silent alarm, I will kill you all!” He commanded. The three tellers showed their hands, obviously freaked out. The one that previously blacked out the cameras, Guy A, grabbed the first teller and led them back to the vault. Guy B and C stood guard, making sure no one was trying to use their cellphone or anything. Guy D shoved a duffel bag at the teller, commanding him to fill it. "Hurry!" He screamed.

The mid afternoon heat in North Central Texas punched Joseph Giordano in the face as he stepped out of his vehicle in the bank parking lot. He squinted his eyes, even through the white-rimmed sunglasses that wrapped around his dark brown eyes. The sunlight was indeed quite blinding in the cloudless sky, and the heat emanating from the nearby busy intersection only made the naturally hot weather even worse. Looking over to a nearby group of construction workers, he felt a slight bit of pity for them.

He was a product of a mixed family, a blend of mainly Italian and Filipino. His dark brown hair, deliberately kept cut short, and eyes only confirmed to anyone who knows what to look for, of his eastern heritage. His mother emigrated to the US in the 1970's, while his father's family came from Europe at the turn of the 20th century, looking for opportunity just like everyone else, it seemed. He carried his 6'1", 185 lbs frame well, working out all of the time to keep it in top shape, as any typical athlete who is getting paid a handsome amount of money should.

The heat was brutal, but it wasn't as if Joseph was unfamiliar with it. He was a local boy, born and raised in Dallas, moving away only to attend the University of Denver on a hockey scholarship. While the odds were certainly against it, he had hoped his athletic career would bring him back home, and it did rather quickly. He was a 3rd round pick of the Dallas Stars prior to going to college, but held off on turning pro until he fulfilled a promise made to his folks that he would get graduate college. A promise that was even more important, considering that one of his three younger siblings was killed in a car accident when Joseph was 16. His younger brother, Paul, was taken away from them at the age of 13 by a drunk driver. A repeat offender, no less. It shook up his family quite a bit, but they were able to get through it together.

With degree in hand, he returned home and began his professional athletic career. After only his second full season, he had established himself as not only one of the top players on the team, but as one of the more recognizable faces in the city. Increasingly, his green and white #94 jerseys were selling well and could be seen being worn by fans at each home game. It was an awesome feeling, to see his name emblazoned on the back of the sweaters, making him and his family proud.

Joseph normally used his offseason to catch up on several things. He had already traveled a little bit around the country, and had future plans on expanding beyond those borders. When not recuperating from the grind of a long season, he spent time with his friends, worked on personal hobbies, or took care of his errands.

Today was being spent on the latter. Walking into the bank lobby, he was immediately greeted by a banker whose task must have been greeting customers. The bank greeter was well dressed in a medium gray suit and lavender tie, a significant contrast to Joseph's dark blue jeans and gray t-shirt.

He walked to the end of the line, raising the sunglasses to the top of his head. Six people ahead of him. This might be an extended wait, he thought to himself. No worries, though. He'll busy himself by checking out the attractive woman in front of him.

Great body. He wondered if she worked out --

That's when the commotion began. Four masked men stormed into the bank, screaming orders at everyone in the lobby. His heart automatically started racing.

His hands were already raising up into the air, when the gunshots rang out. He didn't know how many, but there was multiple, and the sounds gave him a a brief, but good, startle. Instinctively, he reached for the young woman in front of him and quickly brought her to the ground. His sunglasses bounced off of his head and onto the tile floor. The force probably would have hurt her, but even if it did, that was the least of any of their problems. His right hand rested on her shoulder, silently urging her to stay down, while his left hand remained free and extended out.

He had turned his head around just enough to see someone in a sky blue uniform on the ground, down in a heap and completely motionless. The security guard.

As the screams of frightened bank customers and employees filled the lobby, Joseph couldn't help but think to himself, the shit's getting real.

As soon as the bullets were shot, there was gasps and screams all around. Amelia turned to look at the men, still a bit confused but her hands automatically rose in the air. It was just instinct really. You never prepared for these things. But she had watched plenty of cop shows where this happened. She looked at the guns, noticing all of them were the same gun. After all, her dad was an ex Navy SEAL. She was taught to fight but how could one girl fare against 4 guys with guns? She would be shot if she took a step. So she did not even want to test her luck there.

The security guard was standing rather close to her and before he was even able to touch his gun, he got 3 bullets to the chest. Amelia was spattered with his blood, her gasping before she was tackled onto the floor by someone behind her. She looked up to see that the security guard was crumpled onto the floor. But his eyes were open as he bled out. It was...so creepy to her. She was watching the man die in front of her eyes. She would have helped but she would be killed. This was hard. Was she going to risk her life to save his? Could he even be saved? Oh god... With a glance up, she saw the others on the floor, hands on their head. Now, who was this person on top of her? A rather heavy man it felt. And her body was aching from him tackling her tot he hard tile ground.

Amelia swallowed, looking at her phone just a arm's stretch out. She glanced to the guards, making sure they weren't looking before she reached out and grabbed her phone. Of course, as she was retracting her hand back, Guy B saw her. "HEY!" He screamed, heading over to her. He easily shoved Joseph off of her, pulling Amelia to her knees. "I said no using a phone!" He replied loudly.

"I am sorry! I wasn't going to do anything!" Amelia lied, her eyes watering up now. She whimpered, wondering if this was the end of her life. "Please don't kill me!" She begged him.

"You liar!" The man screamed, pressing the barrel of the gun to her temple.

At this point, she was crying, tears stealing down her face and eyes starting to become bloodshot. "Please....please don't kill me....." Amelia begged the man once again. She didn't want to die. Who wanted to die? Well yes, but in general...

't that moment, Amelia saw her life flashing before her eyes. She almost died all those years ago and apparently she had been lucky to live as long as she did. She was borrowing time and it looked like it had just run out. She would be joining the boy who died for her. She would never have a family, never fall in love...none of it. Never save another life...

As Joseph laid on the ground, with most of him on top of the young woman, he hoped and prayed that this ordeal would be over rather quickly. That nobody would do anything stupid, and the customers would indeed stay still, that the robbers would get what they wanted, and leave without hurting anyone.

Unfortunately, he could not communicate his thoughts through osmosis to the young woman. He couldn't stop her from reaching out for what he presumed was her cell phone. Sure enough, she was caught by one of the robbers.

He heard the man scream, "Hey!" and before he could finish the thought of whether to turn and face the man or not, he felt himself being thrown off of the woman and rolled to his side. The momentum carried him a couple of feet away, resulting with him facing the woman and the gunman.

Gathering all of his courage, he stood straight up and spoke to the gunman threatening her. "Hey, she wasn't trying to do anything--"

He locked eyes with the man, and wouldn't forget how they looked. One part aggressive, one part threatening, with no compassion at all. But he also thought he saw fear. Fear that someone was going against their plan. Maybe his getting up and speaking for the woman had somehow slowed down their progress. Or that it might give someone else enough courage to stand up and fight back in a vain attempt against the bank robbers.

The gunshot sounded like nothing he had ever heard of before, but maybe that's because the robber aimed it directly at him. Did the robber fire out of aggression or fear? It did not matter. The shot hit him in the chest, towards his upper left portion, and went straight through, leaving a small coin-sized hole into the long counter below the row of bank teller windows. The force sent him flying back into the counter, where he landed with a thud.

His eyes were shut, and his mouth was open, frozen from the intense pain of the gunshot wound. He slid down onto the floor in a sitting position, as the gunman fired again, grazing his left shoulder. A streak of red was visible on the counter, beginning from where he landed and ended where he sat. He didn't hear much of anything after that, exacerbated by the second gunshot whizzing by his left ear.

With her eyes bleary, Amelia could barely see. But she faintly heard someone saying something. Something like "she wasn't trying..." or maybe she was hearing anything. One thing she did hear was that popping noise. The sound of a bullet, whizzing through the air. This was it...she was dead. Dead...dead...dead.... Amelia assumed she was dead. But...her heart was still pumping...she could her herself talking in her mind.

She was alive? Then....who got shot? She blinked furiously, seeing the man who was previously on top of her. And by the blood seeping from the wound, he was the one who got shot. Sirens soon started screaming in her ears, signaling the police were there.

"Let's go!" One of the masked men screamed, all of them shuffling out. Of course, not before the one shoved Amelia to the floor once again. She landed with a thud, hearing the doors thrown open. She pushed herself up, looking around to see that the men were indeed gone. Another glance to the man shot and she crawled over. "Someone call 911!" She screamed, her looking down.

Holy....shit. She knew who it was. It was the man she had been looking for this entire time... Her shocked expressions as soon taken over over by the fact that she needed to save him. She started ripping the bottom of his shirt, looking into his brown eyes. "I am a doctor. You are going to be okay." She whispered to him. She was encouraging, making sure that he stayed with her. "Can you tell me your name?" She asked him, wadding up the shirt. "This is going to sting." She added, pressing roughly against the wound. "Hang in with me." She told him.

~~~

The next 5 hours were a whirlwind. Amelia went to the hospital with Joseph and she also was in the operating room as well. She helped out in saving his life and he was in the clear. Of course, there was always risk of infection or such but he was alive and it missed vital organs. He was lucky. Amelia didn't go home after all of this. Rather, she was now changed into a pair of scrubs, her hair tied up into a ponytail. She wanted to make sure that Joseph was alright. Amelia was in the room at the moment, looking over his chart and checking on it.

Joseph expected to hear another shot. All it would take is just one more to finish him off, as he was completely defenseless. But it never came.

A long, slight groan escaped from his mouth, and his eyes opened slightly. His right hand moved slowly and planted itself on the location where he was shot. When he pulled it back and glanced, there indeed was blood. More than he was used to ever seeing. And the pain. The pain was too much to bear.

He knew there was movement around him, sensed it, heard it. But it all seemed distant and irrelevant. Like shadows and background noise, he couldn't focus on it.

The woman then came into view. And she was saying something. He remembered thinking that she was attractive. She started taking huge chunks of his shirt, exposing his torso which had a couple of streaks of blood running down. As soon as she pressed the fabric against his wound, he lurched forward and groaned again. He thought that the level of pain seemed impossible to grow, but when she applied pressure, he was proven wrong.

Her voice sounded as if it was bouncing around his head. He couldn't fully understand. What did she say? Something about his name? He tried to speak. "Joe... My name..." he trailed off. His head slowly turned to look down and away, and his eyes closed. The last thing he remembered thinking was whether or not he was about to see Paul...

~~~

The light was dull, but very noticeable. That was the first thing he noticed when he became conscious. Was this it? Is this what the end was like? Is this the first thing one would notice when they pass on to the afterlife?

He felt his eyelids twitch. Closed. It took him a moment to realize that his eyes were closed. Then the sounds. The humming and beeping of machines, they sounded close.

His eyes opened a sliver. More and more light, until there was little darkness, he took an audible breath and turned his head from side to side. It was a hospital room, and not the heavenly gates. Off to the side was a woman standing there, although he couldn't see what she was doing.

The rhythmic beeping was oddly flaming to her. Perhaps it was because she knew he was alive. Or that his heart was beating, blood running through his system. She finished looking over the chart and going to put it back when she looked up. She gave a small smile to the man who just seemed to be just waking up. She was relieved that he was alive. He had tried to save her life...her brother saved her life and now she helped save his life. Amelia slowly approached the hospital bed, looking over him. "Hello there.." She started, still smiling as she held his chart in her hand. "Do you remember me? Or anything?" She asked him. When he started moving a bit, she lightly placed her hand slightly on his arm. "Calm down, moving is going to hurt you more. Just try and relax. Can I get you anything?" She asked in a gentle tone.

The woman noticed him and moved closer to the bedside, and smiled. It was a gentle smile, one that was warm. Why did he notice it? She looked familiar, but his mind was too groggy to jog his memory. Where had he seen her before? He remembered being at the bank, and that it was being robbed. He remembered the confrontation between he and one of the robbers. He remembered hearing the gun fire, but that's where it ended. He didn't know how he got to the hospital, or what time it was.

He mustered up a few whispered words. "I remember a little bit... Where are my parents? My family?" He tried to sit up in the hospital bed, and was quickly stopped by the white hot pain he felt in his chest. His eyes winced, and he sank back in bed with no resistance.

He seemed to realize just how much he hurt. "Do you need some more medicine?" She asked him, looking down into his eyes. "As for your family and parents, there was no contact information. I will be more than happy to call them now for you." She added. His phone was locked so they could not find a number in there. "Are you thirsty?" She asked. She was a little worried and perhaps a bit attentive. She just wanted to make sure he was alright. After all, he had just saved her life. She would have been dead. Also, she knew who he was. This was the craziest coincidence. Things like this only happened in movies right?

Joseph laid in silence for a moment. It wasn't an attempt to ignore her, but rather to let the pain in his upper body subside. It felt like fire, but the pain decreased within a few seconds. "No medicine. I am fine," he replied, thinking that it was likely more beneficial to just remain relaxed in the hospital bed.

He looked back at the woman. The feeling that she was familiar was something that he could not shake. Her eyes were full of compassion. In his experience, most doctors and nurses, while caring, still acted mainly business-like. After all, they had other patients to take care of. Was she different than that? Was what he was seeing genuine, or was he still just groggy?

He was putting the pieces together in his mind. The robbery, the female bank customer that was about to be shot, and that he had tried to stick up for her and was himself shot in the process. He felt like that there was a lot of details that were missing, though. And questions. He had a lot of questions.

"Am I gonna be okay? You can call my family, but where is my phone?" A pause, then another question. "Has the team been notified?" Surely, they would have been notified. A bank robbery, and someone like him, a player on the team, getting shot?