Summary: What if there really had been a bullet fired on the ride-along? Joey comes to regret shielding Ross as he stands by Chandler's hospital bed…

All of a sudden, there was a loud bang, along with the sound of glass shattering. In a moment of terror, Joey leaned to his right and threw his arms around Ross. His hands groped in the darkness, searching blindly for his sandwich. To his left, he heard Chandler scream; of course, he was scared.

Gary slammed his foot on the gas, and the car sped off. "Are you three okay?" he yelled back.

Joey pulled himself off of Ross. "Yeah…"

Ross was staring at Joey with wide eyes. "Me too…"

"Chandler?" asked Gary.

Joey turned his head to glance at his roommate. Chandler was doubled over, both hands clamped on his left shoulder. Even through the haze of darkness, Joey could see that he was bleeding.

"Chandler's been hit!" he yelled frantically. "Go to a hospital! Now!"

Gary gasped. He began to drive even faster.

"Hang in there, okay, man?" Joey urged. He put one arm around Chandler, to try and keep him calm. "It's gonna be okay."

Chandler nodded, but there were tears in his eyes. Joey bit his lip, unsure of what to do, and then turned to Gary. "Hey! Speed it up there!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" exclaimed Gary. "Where was he shot?"

"M-My shoulder…" Chandler said.

Gary relaxed a bit. "Well, at least that shouldn't be life-threatening. We're almost there, though."

Chandler leaned into Joey and whispered, "What does he know about life-threatening? I think my… ow… arm's gonna fall off…"

"Save it, 'kay, dude?" Joey suggested gently.

When they pulled into the hospital, the four of them rushed to the front desk. "I'm from the NYPD." Gary told the woman at the desk. "My friend here's been shot."

"We'll take it from here." she assured them. A couple of doctors came up and put Chandler into a wheelchair, which they began to wheel away.

"Wait!" exclaimed Joey. He tried to follow, but Gary and Ross pulled him back.

"They'll tell you when you can go in, dude." Ross reminded him. "Okay, I'm gonna go and tell the others what happened."

"I'll go too." said Gary. "I don't want you out there all alone, Ross. Besides, I have to find that jerk that shot Chandler and bring him in."

Ross nodded.

"I'll stay here." Joey murmured. "In the waiting room, I guess…"

Gary patted the Italian actor on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Joey. Chandler is going to be fine."

The two of them left, and Joey sat down in the waiting room. As he put his head in his shaking hands, he felt a sudden rush of guilt. Why did he have to try and grab his sandwich? Why hadn't he thrown himself over Chandler, instead? If he had, maybe his roommate wouldn't be hurt now…

Joey felt a tear run down his cheek, landing on his arm. He wiped his eyes and sighed, trying to take his mind off of Chandler. It was hard, though; knowing that his best friend was suffering and it was his fault.

Darn that amazing sandwich.

To Joey, it seemed like hours passed before a nurse came out. "Joey?" he called.

Joey jumped to his feet. "Yes, nurse? Oh! Is Chandler okay? Where is he? Is he going to be fine? What-"

"He's going to be just fine." the nurse assured him. "In fact, he was asking about you. You are Joey Tribbiani, right?"

"Yes!" Joey exclaimed.

"Come with me, then."

Joey followed the woman through the hallway and into one of the rooms. Sitting on the bed, grinning up at Joey, was Chandler.

"Chandler!" exclaimed Joey. He ran over and wrapped his arms around his roommate. "Oh… Chandler…"

"Ow." Chandler muttered. Gently, he pushed Joey off of him. "Sorry, dude… you were kinda on my bad arm."

"Oh, right… Sorry." Joey was now noticing that Chandler's left shoulder was bandaged, and his arm was in a sling. "Oh, and Chandler… I'm so sorry for not jumping on you like I did Ross. I wasn't trying to shield him… I swear… he was holding my sandwich…"

"S'okay, man." Chandler replied. "Calm down."

Joey nodded. However, his eyes began to well up. "I'm just so glad you're okay, dude!" Careful of Chandler's injured arm, he hugged him again, burying his face into Chandler's shoulder.

Chandler was surprised. "Wow, Joey… but the bullet wasn't near anything that could've killed me."

"I know…" sniffled Joey. "But if anything had happened to you, I… I would have felt responsible."

"Because you didn't throw yourself on me in the cab?" Chandler asked. "Well, as if I needed another reason for people to think I'm gay." He laughed a little at his own joke, but Joey didn't, so he stopped.

"It's my fault, though." Joey murmured, looking up into Chandler's face.

Chandler shook his head. "Come on… don't blame yourself, Joe. It's not your fault. Even if you had jumped on me, what d'you think would've happened, anyway? Even if one of your hands had gotten over my shoulder, I think the bullet would've gone right through your hand and into me anyway. Plus, we'd both have to be hospitalized. And what fun is that?"

Joey laughed.

"Listen. The doctors said I can go home tomorrow… they just want to keep watch on me tonight just in case." Chandler continued. "I'm actually pretty sleepy, but… do you wanna stay here for a while?"

"Yeah, of course!" Joey nodded. He leaned away from Chandler and sat down on the hospital bed beside him.

Chandler lay down and closed his eyes. "I knew this ride-along was a bad idea…" he murmured to himself before drifting off to sleep.

Joey stayed with Chandler, even as he slept. When Ross returned, bringing Monica, Phoebe, and Rachel with him, Joey shushed them, pointing to his sleeping roommate.

"Is he okay?" asked Monica anxiously.

"Yeah, he's fine." Joey replied. "He's gonna be coming back tomorrow."

"What a relief!" exclaimed Phoebe.

"Shh!" Ross hissed.

The next day, Joey and Chandler were sitting in their apartment. The TV was on, and they were watching Baywatch. It was like nothing had ever happened. "I promise that next time we get into some kind of life-threatening situation, I'll be the big hero and help you this time." Joey promised.

"Why bother, Joe? You're already my hero."

Joey found himself blushing and grinning like a fool. He was going to say something sweet and slightly romantic back, but then, all of a sudden, a look of alarm dawned on his face.

"Where did my sandwich even end up!?"

end