Angels Can Wait

"No!"

Everything slowed down for Alicia as she heard three gun shots fired in the deserted alley. Joe a split second before had pushed her towards the ground as he and Frank moved to protect her. Her descent to the pavement seemed to take minutes rather than the two seconds it actually took. She watched the red/orange sparks light up the darkness just before she hit the ground, hard. She turned her head and saw Frank twist and fall, clutching his left side.

A moment later, Joe flinched twice as he landed beside her. She had no time to think, and yet, she seemed to have all the time she needed. She picked up one of the glass shards that she had landed on and tossed it at the closest man. It hit him straight in the eye, and he dropped his gun. She then picked up the pipe that was leaning on the dumpster and rolled closer. A sharp pain went through her side as she stood, followed by a ripping sound. She didn't hesitate to see what had happened; she just swung the pole straight at the second man's head with all of her might. The thud was sickening, and she felt a little queasy after she thought about what she had just done. The first man was still scrambling for his gun, so she closed her eyes as she swung the pipe again. She had to protect her brothers, like they had done for her, her entire life.

"Oh no. Frank! Joe!"

She ran to her brothers' side. Frank was grimacing, and turning pale, but he had managed to sit up. As she knelt by his side, he scoffed sardonically. "It's only a flesh wound," he mocked, sounding quite out of breath. "Knocked the wind out of me more than anything." He flinched as she double checked the bullet hole.

"It was a clean shot, but you are losing too much blood. Here," she said, as she removed her light sports jacket and tied it around his wound tight. "Hold that there. And press hard, ok? I'm also going to ask you to call 911. I seemed to have dropped my phone." He pulled out his phone and dialed.

She turned to Joe. "How are you holding up, Joe?" He didn't respond. "Joe?" He weakly groaned as she moved over to him and gasped. Two bullets holes were spaced 4 inches apart. One had landed below his shoulder, the other, dangerously close to his heart. "You stupid idiot," She cried softly. She rolled him over and placed his head on her lap. "You took my bullet, too. Reckless brother."

Joe opened his eyes, and looked at her with all of his Hardy charm to mask the pain. "Someone has to take care of you," he said, his voice not much above a whisper. At the worried look in her eyes, he told her, "You know, brothers and sister, together we'll make it through."

She shook her head and smiled as looked down at her nice white blouse that was now shades of asphalt black and blood red. There was a tear all the way up her side. "Perfect." She tore a strip off the bottom of the ruined blouse, turned it into a make shift tourniquet and tied it above his wound, directly on the pressure point. She tore up the rest of the bottom half of her blouse, and held it to his heart. "Frank!" she said, the disguised worry in her voice evident to both brothers. "Are you ok? Did you call?"

"I'm ok, Alicia. But you are in pretty bad shape yourself. Shouldn't you…" Frank saw the blank look in her eyes, and the calm, professional manner she was conducting herself. She was in first aid mode. While she was there, nothing could touch her, not even the sight of blood, which she usually fainted at the sight. Her pain was nothing right now, emotionally or physically. Frank dragged himself over to his younger siblings and leaned against the dumpster. He cast worried glances at his little sister, wishing he could take care of her, but there was nothing he could do.

Alicia looked down at her older brother, who had started to close his eyes. "Joe, Stay with me. Don't fall asleep. It's too soon." She came close to tears, then begged, "Talk to me, Joe." His eyes struggled back open.

"Alicia…" His voice cracked as he spoke her name. "It's alright. Everything is ok."

The distant wail of sirens made Alicia anxious. Would they get here quick enough- she thought. "Joe, please, the ambulance is on its way. Please, just stay with me."

"Listen, there is something, I want both of you to know, just in case…"

Frank interrupted, "Joe, you aren't going to die. We've been through worse scrapes than this before, and we always come out alright." He took his brothers closest hand and held it in his. "You're not going to die," he said again, softly and sternly. He wondered if he said it for Joe's benefit, or for his own and Alicia's.

Joe shook his head, something that seemed to take a lot of effort. "I'm not so sure," he said, taking a shallow breath. "Please, just promise me something." Alicia and Frank waited for him to continue, and Alicia ran one hand through his blonde hair. "Don't cry for me when I'm gone, at least, not too much. No point in wasting them, you know."

"Joseph Hardy! If you weren't in such a fragile state I would slug you for that! How can you say tears are wasted on you?" Alicia's eyes were blazing now, and the tears fell more steadily. She felt her concentration slipping, and knew it was only a matter of time before the full reality hit, and she would break down.

"I didn't mean it like that," Joe said slightly defensive. "I only meant this was bound to happen eventually. Our day will come. Mine… just may be coming sooner rather than later."

"Joe, please don't talk like that," Frank said quietly, as the sirens got louder. They had to be only 8 blocks away now, he thought. "Alicia needs you. I need you. You aren't done yet."

Joe thought for a moment, and as his vision darkened, the thought struck him. Maybe this was Destiny. "I've seen so much, heard, felt so much. I've grown and done so much. I just wanted you to be proud of me… And you've been there and helped me through it all. There is nothing… in this world that could repay… these… 17 years…" His breaths grew much shallower, and Frank gripped his hand tighter.

Alicia shook her head, and tears fell everywhere. "Where is that damn ambulance?"

I'm here and I feel like I'm
Delayin' you, betrayin' you,

Joe smiled, "I don't… think I've ever heard… you curse before… Alicia." He smirked, "What would your mother say?"

And when I'm gone I hope there's
someone savin' you.

"Frank? Mom and Dad?"

"I called them, they are meeting us at the hospital. It will take them a while to get here from Bayport."

"Alicia…" Joe asked quietly, "One more request..." She listened intently. "Sing… for me?"

She nodded, and started to sing.

Frank could see the lights now, and the siren wailed one last time before he saw the ambulance pull over to the entrance of the alley.

Police and two of the paramedics ran to the two unconscious men. The rest of the paramedics ran to the three teenagers, and surrounded Joe. They placed him gently onto a stretcher, and started talking him over to the ambulance, all the while hooking him up to fluids and oxygen. Alicia tried to follow, but a few more paramedics were surrounding her, trying to get her to lie down on one of the stretchers. "I'm fine! Let me go!" She moved to stand and walk over to where they were they were loading Frank into a second ambulance. As she took her first step, pain shot through her sides and back, and she felt extremely lightheaded. One of the younger EMT's caught her as she fell. "I want to ride with one of my brothers. And I refuse to lie down in a stretcher."

The EMT smiled at her stubbornness and picked her up from under her knees. She put her head on his shoulder as he carried her over to the ambulances. As he sat her down in her own ambulance, she fought him.

"No! Let me go! My brothers! Joe! Frank!"

"Calm down," The EMT said calmly and sympathetically. "You are in a lot worse shape than you think you are in." He sat her down and looked at her, messy blouse and all. Alicia suddenly grew very self conscious. "You know, those tourniquets were a smart idea. That was quick thinking on your part. Now let me take care of you, ok?" As Alicia nodded, another EMT climbed in and closed the door and two others climbed into the front. "I'm Alex, by the way." He said, trying to distract her.

Alicia nodded, not staring at anything. Her eyes blazed, and hot tears spilled out of her eyes. She wiped them away harshly as the second EMT started working on some of her major cuts, pulling out shards of glass, rocks, and bits of dark blue plastic. She gasped in pain, but denied anything for it. She held onto one of Alex's hands with both of hers, and held her eyes closed tight, praying, and hoping the pain would cover the excuse for her tears, rather than the fear of losing Joe.

"I guess you haven't realized what happened to your cell-phone, have you?" Alex joked as her held up some of the blue shards. One was marked clearly with the Verizon check.

"Must have broken during the fall," she said numbly, her voice cracking. She felt a prick on her arm. She flinched, and immediately felt drowsy. "You loser," she said with a little endearment. "drugging a poor… helpless girl…" She smiled slightly. "Thank you," she whispered, as she closed her eyes and fell into oblivion.

"Really?" the second EMT flipped her hair out of her eyes. "You could have just put antibiotics in the IV. It would have made my job easier."

"Relax, Susan. She needed this, it will save her from the physical pain and emotional, so she can handle them one at a time. Besides, it was only a small dosage. She'll wake up in an hour." Alex looked at the girl who was now leaning on his shoulder. Susan had finished cleaning her cuts, and was now bandaging them. He held her still as the poor girls exposed flesh was completely covered in gauze bandages. They reached the hospital a few minutes later, and due to her wishes, Alex carried her to the door of the ER.

To be continued…

A/N: I do not own anything recognizable. The song I based this off of is Stay With Me-DJ Ironik. I removed the lyrics in accordance with FF's rules, but you should still listen to the song. Hope you enjoy. Please review.