Just before he left, Cray had made Gina swear to leave Blue Heaven before dark.  With all the unrest, it would be too dangerous for her to leave later than that.  Nodding, Gina assured him that she would be safe, and hurried him out the door to get Corky to the safehouse.  Gina planned to do a few things to help the search for a new waitress, then head home.  However, out of pure excitement, she got distracted making design plans for her new office.  Her new position as the bar's accountant really couldn't have come at a better time.  At just under 7 months into her pregnancy, Gina was finding the physical part of waiting tables to be a little harder every week.  Now, she could be off her feet and doing what she did best- cooking the books and making money.  

Time had gotten away from her.  When she looked up at the clock it was 10:45.  Sighing, Gina quickly locked up the bar, slid a loaded handgun into her purse, and walked out the back door.  It was a shame that things were so dangerous- it really was a beautiful night and Gina would have loved to walk home, but she knew that wasn't the best idea. As she locked the back door and started up the alley toward the street, she decided she would try and find a taxi.  Just as she rounded the corner to the front of the building, she heard the sound of a door slamming a little ways down the street.  Immediately after, the sound of gunfire rang out.  Gina stiffened and looked toward the sound of the guns.  She reached into her bag and grabbed the weapon.  The sound of tires screeched and Gina found herself less than five inches from the bumper of a vehicle she didn't recognize.  She jumped back, only to feel someone grab her arm. 

"Where you goin', lady?  Shouldn't you be home knitting or something?"

The man's voice was unfamiliar, but as two other men got out of the vehicle, it was clear that they had been waiting for her.  One of the men quickly snatched the purse from her hands.

"Well, that sure ain't no kitting needle.  Let's get her back to the boss and quit screwing around."

Gina didn't know whether to scream or do as they asked.  She glanced around, looking for any way out of this.

TM had been on his way home from a long night.  Having given up his car to make sure his boss made it home safely away from all the fighting of the day, he decided to walk home, it was a beautiful night anyways, to say the least.  As he waves down a taxi to take him back to Brooklynn, he hears the sound of a door slamming, and tires squealing around the block.  With a sigh, knowing that this night, it could be anything, but nothing good, he closes the cab door and takes off through the alley to investigate.  As he rounds the corner he spots the three unfamiliar men cornering a pregnant young woman.  Shaking his head he makes his way up the alley to them.  They were so distracted by her that none of them noticed TM's approach until he was almost on top of them.

"Hey!  What do you think you are doing to this young lady?"

TM proceeded forward, speaking as he approached, watching all three men's movements.

"I'm too tired, and too worn out right now..."

TM quickly throws a right hook, catching the jaw of one of the assailants, knocking him to the ground.

"And am getting far too old..."

He throws a quick uppercut to the neck of the second man who tried to run up behind him.

"To be dealing with this shit..."

He quickly turns and lifts his foot, catching the third man running at him mid stride, then launching him into the wall.

"Or listening to anything you out of towners have to say right now."

TM finally draws his gun, and shoots the first two men as they are trying to get up, then walks toward the third man, slamming him into the wall.

"Now, tell the nice lady you're sorry."

TM smacks the handle of his gun across the head of the third man who starts wimpering. "I, I, I'm sorry, we were just looking to make an easy buck, with the war and all, we didn't think....

"Shut up."

TM grabs the man's face then slams the back of his head into the wall, watching him collapse into a heap of nothing then looks at the woman.  Before he can say a word, the sound of another car squealing flows through the alley.

Before she even has a chance to thank the gentleman for intervening on her behalf, another car comes screaming from the other side of the street.  Gina immediately notices the Delaware licence plates.  Glancing to her left, there is a taxi driver with a spooked look in his eye that is likely about to bolt.  Gina calls out to the man who had delt with her attackers.

"Taxi- over there!"

The two of them took off for the cab as the doors of the other vehicle started to open.  Gina saw a glint of steel through the windows and quickly fished her gun out of her bag.  She clicked off the safety just as she reached the cab.  She flung open the door of the cab and scrambled inside just as bullets are fired.  It's impossible to duck down, as she is, so the moment the kind stranger is in the back seat with her, she yells to the driver.

"Just GO!"

The driver hits the gas, and the cab lurches hard and starts barreling down the street.  Slumping back in the seat to catch her breath, Gina looks over at the man beside her.

"Are you ok?"

TM runs to the cab, shooting out the rest of his bullets over his shoulder.  Barely making it into the cab before it takes off, he reaches in his pocket and quickly reloads his gun.  After he finishes and reholsters it, TM grabs a wad of cash and tosses it at the driver.  After a few blocks, he reaches in his coat and pulls out a shiny silver flask, then takes a quick drink.  As he's putting it back, he notices a red stain starting to seep through his shirt.  He gives the young lady a pale smile, then nods at her.

"I wouldn't worry about me much, are you two ok?"

He gestures towards the lady and her stomach.

"Driver, ignore the lights ya?  There's an extra stack in it if you get this lady where she's going in one piece.  I just need to...close my eyes for a bit, it's been a long day.  Where you heading miss?"

Smiling he lays his head back against the seat and closes his eyes.

Gina's eyes widen with alarm as she sees the bloodstain forming just below the man's shirt pocket.  

"Christ- you're hit.  We need to get you to a-"

She pauses and looks at him.  Here is a very well dressed man who happens to be carrying a gun and is  an excellent shot.  Gina suspected that he was connected somehow, so the hospital was likely out of the question.  She looked at the driver and gave him the address to her home in Staten Island.  Turning her attention back to her seat mate, she watches the bloodstain growing.  Her mind races, trying to think what she can do to stop the bleeding.  She reaches for her handbag and takes a white, linen handkerchief from it.  Carefully, she turns in her seat and reaches for the buttons of his shirt."

"Listen- I'm Gina, and you're losing a lot of blood- but don't worry, I can get you some help if we can get to my place.  I hope you aren't very attached to this shirt.  How are you feeling?"

With quick, agile fingers, she unbuttons the shirt from the middle down, pulling the shirt away on his left side.  She takes the folded handkerchief and applies pressure to the wound.

The cab is sent flying forward suddenly.  As the tires screech and the driver tries to recover, TM catches Gina before she can hit the floor.  He looks over his shoulder and sees the roadster flying up behind them again.  He sighs and braces Gina for another hit as the car catches up and slams the back of the cab again.

"Driver, just saying, you may want to get off THIS ROAD!"

He turns back to Gina and grins, laying her on the back seat and covering her face with his jacket.

"My turn I guess, most people around New York just call me The_Marine or TM.  My name is Aaron though, and right now, I don't rightly care what you want to call me, just do me one favor and DON'T move from that spot."

Frowning a bit he braces her one more time as the cars collide then sits up drawing out both of his 1911's, one nickel and one black.  He fires five shots into the rear window of the cab then kicks it out and goes to take aim at the roadster.  Before he can get a clean shot lined up a man pops out of the side with a tommy gun and starts spraying towards the cab.  TM quickly covers Gina again counting out the bullets as they leave the other man's gun.

...48, 49, 50...

During the pause, as the man has to stop and reload his gun, TM pops back up and starts firing off shots through the roadsters windshield, cracking it to a point where the driver can't through it then yells at the cabbie.

"Make a left on this street, NOW!."

Taking time, setting his aim at the driver side of the roadsters windshield, TM waits, as the cab turns, the driver of the roadster has to pop out of the window to see where he's going and when to turn, as soon as he does, TM pops off one more shot strait into the driver, sending the roadster crashing into a nearby wall.  TM finally gives up, collapsing in the seat.

Gina- who is normally calm in situations like this- is fairly well shaken up at this point.  Crouching under the cover of Aaron's coat, she shields herself with one arm and uses the other to brace herself against the back of the driver's seat.  With every slam of the car beind them, she tenses, praying the force doesn't send her flying.  Finally, the shooting stops and the cab driver races a few more miles before bringing the car to a stop.  Gina pushes herself upright.  Aaron is there beside her, gripping his side and breathing heavily.  The driver gets out of the car and slams the door, walking back the way they had come from.  Quickly, Gina gets out of the car.

"Where do you think you're going??"

The driver curses and says something about this kind of thing not being in his job description.  Looking back at the car and the road ahead, she realizes they are only a few miles from her house.  Aaron is looking frighteningly pale, so there really is nothing else she can do.  She gets into the driver's seat of the car and manages to get it started, then heads for the house.  She has only driven a few times, but keeps the vehicle slow and steady.  Within ten minutes  she pulls the car to the curb in front of her house and stops the car.  She slides out of the seat, cringing a little with sore muscles.  Opening the back seat, she reaches in to help Aaron out.

"Come on- we're here.  Just a little further, now."

She takes his hands to steady him, a look of deep worry on her face.  In that moment, it hit her that this man had saved her life- not once, but about four times by now.  Despite her hands shaking, her eyes soften.

"You're going to be alright- I promise."

TM grins, trying to keep his humor about the night as Gina helps him out of the car.

"Moving a little fast don't ya think?  First date and all?"

He grins but his laugh is cut short by a stabbing pain through his body as he tries to move forward and looks up dismayed, swearing a bit as his Irish accent starts to come out.

"Stairs, damned country and it's damned stairs, why can't you all just keep things close to the ground where they belong."

He painfully works his way up the stairs, more trying to help Gina up them than let her help him.  Sighing at the front door he looks at her and tries to smile again.

"Please tell me you have a key?"

Gina raises her eyebrows, laughing a little as she reaches into her bag.

"Of course I do, I just got them three days ago."

She slides the key into the lock and turns it, opening the door to her home.  Leading him into the magnificent, marble foyer, Gina drops her handbag on a table in the center and shuts the door behind her.  She then slips his arm over her shoulders and braces him around the waist.

"There's a guest bedroom just through the study.  Let's get you in there and I will call for help- my neighbors are good people- I just don't know anything about this kind of wound..."

The two gingerly make it through the foyer, across the study, and into the nicely sized guest room.  Gina helps him down onto the bed and stacks the decorative pillows behind him.  

"I'm just going to step into the study to use the phone, then I'll be back."

Thinking quickly, she hurries into the bathroom and quickly finds a clean washcloth.  Returning to his side, she presses it against the wound and tossing the first blood-soaked handkerchief to the floor.  She takes his hand and presses it against the cloth.

"Keep pressure on it...I won't be a moment." 

He nods, holding the cloth with what strength he does have left.  Looking around admiring the room, he has to wonder what kind of person he's getting involved with here.  He tries to speak up to ask her what she does for a living, but can't, then just closes his eyes and rests his head back on the pillows, letting himself slowly drift into a sleep.

In the  study, Gina picks up the phone and dials the number for Cray and Corky's house.  In her rush to get Aaron inside, she  hadn't looked to see if they were home.  Now, as the line rang, she prayed they were.  The voice that answered was that of their house keeper, Sarah.

"Sarah, this is Gina, I need to speak with Cray or Corky- it's urgent."

Sensing the alarm in her voice, the house keeper told Gina that they were upstairs putting the children to bed, but that she could go and get one of them.  Gina stopped her.

"There isn't time, Sarah.  Please, tell Cray that I need help- I need him to get Dr. Garucci here, quickly."

Before Sarah could answer, Gina cradled the phone and hurried back to the guest room.  His eyes were closed, and that frightened her.  She got to  his side and took the cloth back, holding it herself.  She reached her free hand up and touched his forehead gently.

"Hey, are you still with me, hon?  I need you to stay awake- the doctor is coming, ok?"

Groans and tries to roll over on his side mumbling.

"Ehh, I just wanna go to sleep damn it."

Tries to close his eyes again.  After about 15 minutes the doorbell rings and wakes him up.  Reaching for his gun TM starts to complain more, something about people, and the late hour and him wanting to get some rest.  No sooner than he stands up, not realizing how weak he was from blood loss, TM collapses back to the floor next to the bed.

Gina had been having a terrible time keeping Aaron conscious from the copious amounts of blood he'd lost. When she arrived at the door, her skirt and hands were covered in it.  Cray was obviously frantic, but Gina just shook her head, a pleading look on her face.

"No time...please help him!"

She left the door open and hurriedly led Cray, Corky, and Dr. Garucci back to the guest room where Aaron was still on the floor

"I couldn't lift him after he rolled off the bed...he's been shot.  Please..."

The doctor sprang to action.  Exhausted from the  ordeal, Gina took a few stumbling steps back and leaned against the bathroom door, watching. 

TM suddenly wakes up again, eyes completely lacking color from the loss of blood, in a shear adrenal panic with this many people standing over him.  He flails around a little bit, catching the doctor over the head with a chair he got his hands on sitting near the vanity.  Completely out of his mind at this point.

"Where, who, GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Delerious from the blood loss, TM grabs for the bed, only able to find a pillow, throwing it at Corky as a distraction while he makes a try, stumbling for the door, out into the hallway, looking for an exit.

Gina starts to move toward him, but Corky blocks her, shaking her head and walking her to the other side of the room to a chair.  Cray and Dr. Garucci both went after TM.  The doctor spoke quickly.

"Be careful, Cray- I've seen this before.  I was in the Army and I know PTSD when I see it.  He's not aware of where he is- likely from losing so much blood.  Let's get him back to the bed, quickly, while he's still unconscious."

Cray nods and pulls off his robe, tossing it over a table by the door.  The two men manage to lift TM back onto the bed. Dr. Garucci paused a moment, trying to think quickly.

"We can't sedate him or restrain him- when he comes to, it would send him into a panic.  Perhaps the ladies should wait in the another room."

Corky nodded in agreement.

"Come on, Gina, let's get you cleaned up, honey.  He's going to be alright.  I want you to tell me what happened."

With a good deal of soreness from the car chase, Gina stands to go with Corky.  She glances back over her shoulder, her heart breaking at the sight of this man who put himself in this situation...for her.

The moment Cray saw the man in Gina's house he recognized him as a mobster from Brooklyn. As the doctor talked TM into sitting back down on the bed Cray watched and waited a few seconds before approaching him.

"Getting yourself shot is a good way to pick up women, mate." The dapper Don said then offered his hand to the wounded man to shake, "I'm Cray from Staten Island. We've seen each other a few times in the coffee shops."

The two men chatted for awhile then Cray left the bedroom and found the women in the kitchen.

"I got TM's side of the story, what's yours?" Cray asked Gina and sat down at the table.

Gina was seated at the table in a nightgown and robe.  Even after a shower, she still looked exhausted.  Corky had three tea cups on the counter and was just taking the kettle off the stove when Cray came in.  Gina looked down a little.

"I'm so sorry, Cray.  I lost track of time.  I really had all intentions of getting home before dark- but I had so many ideas, I just kept writing and planning.  When I realized what time it was, I locked up and walked out to hail a cab to take me straight home.  There were two men that tried to rob me.  That's when Aaron just kind of showed up- I really don't know where he came from.  He fought off the muggers, but that was when this other car came out of nowhere and started shooting."

She continued with the story- carefully explaining the strange car with the Delaware plates and how the roadster kept crashing into them.  

"I never saw their faces.  Aaron kept me covered from the bullets and shattering glass.  I swear, if it wasn't for him, I would be dead and gone."

That was the first time the thought really sunk in- just how much danger she'd been in...her baby had been in.  She suddenly felt slightly nauseous.  Corky appeared at the table with the tea and sat down beside her, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.

The three friends talked for another half hour.  It was decided that Gina would see Dr. Garucci tomorrow in his office, just to be safe, and that the Durdens would somehow answer for this.  A few times, Corky and Cray had both encouraged Gina to get some sleep, but she couldn't stand to rest until she knew something of Aaron.  For now, the tea and company of friends was soothing.

"Cray- it seemed like you knew him, but I didn't recognize him.  Did you know Aaron before tonight?"