A/N: Hello all! Thought it was time to write another Riley/ Lucas fic, this time being a multichapter! Throughout the entire fic, there will be a couple of very minor plot similarities to a season 1 episode of J.A.G. called 'Hemlock' (don't worry, not necessary to watch it! It's not a crossover). For those of you who have seen this episode, then you have a glimpse of what may happen to one of the characters in this fic. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything…

Riley and Lucas walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand, as they headed to the local bookstore. Mrs. Matthews' birthday was coming up, and Riley had yet to find the perfect gift for her. She knew that her mother loved reading, so she figured she would check out what books the small shop had.

Lucas held the door open for Riley, and then followed her inside. At the counter, and older man with gray hair looked up from his magazine and smiled at his customers. "Good evening, Riley, Lucas," he greeted the young couple.

Both of them smiled. "Hello, Mr. Parks. Anything good come in recently?" Riley asked.

The older man chuckled. "You can be the judge yourself," he replied, gesturing towards the bookshelves. "But don't worry; I'm sure you'll find something that you'll like."

"Thank you!"

Riley led Lucas towards the first bookshelf and they began to browse. Every once in a while, one of them would pull a book off the shelf and skim through a part of it. And each time, they set the book back on the shelf, knowing it wasn't something Mrs. Matthews would read.

After about a half hour, Riley removed a thick book from its place on the shelf and began to skim the pages. "Hey Lucas, check this out."

Her boyfriend peeked from around the corner and walked over to her. Once there, he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on top of hers. "Think you found something?"

Riley nodded. "Yeah, it definitely reminds me of something my mom has back home. What do you think?" she asked, holding the book so he could see it better.

Lucas shrugged, not bothering to look. "I don't know, she's your mom!"

Riley let out a fake groan. "You're of no help at all, you know that?" she teased.

Lucas spun her around so she was facing him. "Yep," he teased back, pecking her nose, then placing a kiss on her lips.

During their kiss, the tinkling of a bell sounded as another customer entered the store, and Mr. Parks greeting the new customer.

Riley smiled up at her boyfriend. "Now really…what do you —"

*BANG*

The couple froze, both of them looking into each other's frightened eyes, afraid of what just occurred. They heard a soft groan before —

*BANG*

Lucas knocked Riley down to the floor and shielded her, afraid that something had flown in their direction. A few moments passed, and all they could hear was each other's rapid breathing and their hearts pounding. He brought himself into a crouching position and peered over the books on a lower shelf, trying to get a better look at the front of the store.

"What—"

Lucas brought a finger to his lips, silently telling Riley to be quiet as he tried to study the situation.

He finally turned to her. "Stay here," he whispered as he shuffled around the corner of the bookshelf towards the counter.

Riley didn't listen completely. She moved herself to the end of the bookshelf and sat on her knees as she peered around the corner to keep her eye on Lucas. He moved slowly towards the front of the store after peering around each corner. After checking around the next corner, he moved a couple steps out, then was turning around to head back to Riley.

*BANG*

Riley's mouth dropped in horror as she watched Lucas fall to the ground and lay motionless. She wanted to call out, but nothing came out of her mouth. It felt as if her heart leapt into her throat. The only thing she could do was sit there in shock.

A hooded figure stood up from the side of the counter closest to the exit and walked closer towards Lucas' body. He cocked the gun and aimed at Lucas' head, ready to finish the young teen.

"NO!" a familiar voice screamed. Riley didn't realize who it was until the hooded man looked up and made eye contact with her. She was the one who screamed.

The figure stepped over Lucas and made his way over towards the young girl. Riley tried to scoot herself away from where she was, but realized it wasn't going to do any good. She wouldn't be out of the way in time, and it looked like this guy wasn't going to stop until he found what he was looking for. So, she stood up, gripped the heavy book she had found earlier tightly in her hands, raised it above her head, and waited.

Once she saw the person's gun hand come from around the corner, Riley slammed the book down on his hand, knocking the pistol out of his hands and onto the floor. The hooded man glared at Riley, sending a chill down her spine.

"You little…" he growled as he grabbed ahold of Riley's throat and threw her up against the heavy book case.

Riley kicked and tried to release the man's grip from around her throat so she could breathe, but he strengthened his hold, making her choke even more.

"I'm going to show you what I do to people who interfere," he whispered. He threw her down on the ground and turned around to pick up his pistol from the floor.

Riley placed a hand on her throat and gasped for air. Her eyes focused on where the shooter was headed, and realized that she had to do something now if she was going to survive this encounter. She picked up the book once more and found enough strength to stand and quietly moved closer to him. When he bent down to grab his weapon, Riley brought the book down as hard as she could on the back of the intruder's head, sending him sprawling to the ground.

She tapped the shooter in the side to make sure he was out, then rushed over to her boyfriend's side. "Lucas!" she screamed. Blood was oozing from the back of his head and into the carpet. Riley brought two fingers to the side of his neck. There was a faint pulse, but it was still there. As her eyes filled with tears, she rushed over to check Mr. Parks. She tried to feel for a pulse, but there was nothing.

Riley's hands shook as she reached into her pocket, took out her phone, and dialed 911 as she headed back over to Lucas' side.

"911 emergency, how may I help you?"

"P-please help!" Riley said in between sobs. "M-my boyfriend has been shot, the bookstore owner has been…k-killed." Her voice sounded hoarse, and she wasn't sure if it was because she was crying or she was still recovering from when she was choked.

"Ma'am, where are you? Is the shooter still there?"

Riley nodded despite the fact she was talking on the phone. "Y-yes, he's still here but I-I m-managed to knock him out somehow. I-I'm at Park's Books."

"We have a squad car and an ambulance heading to your location now. They should be there in the next couple of minutes. Is there anything else I can do to help you?"

"N-no, t-thank you," Riley replied, then hung up her phone. She placed her phone back in her pocket and shifted closer to Lucas. Riley took his hand in hers as more sobs wracked her body. "Y-you h-have to stay with me. I-I have no clue if you can hear me, b-but you have to, okay? I-I can't lose you!"

The sirens from the emergency vehicles met Riley's ears. She looked out the window and saw many people from each vehicle step out and rush inside the building, along with some pedestrians wondering what was going on as the police hurried them away from the scene. Riley shifted her focus back to Lucas and placed her head on his chest, letting her tears soak into his shirt.

A/N #2: Let me know what you think of it so far! I have an idea for the next four to five chapters, but I can't guarantee when they'll be posted. Unfortunately, college work must come first. Until next time!