I do not own Black Lagoon or any of its characters.

Death's Door

Rock sat in a chair in the hallway outside the intensive care ward of the hospital. He slumped down exhausted from the hours of waiting while the doctors worked to save Revy's life.

Earlier that day the Black Lagoon had returned from a pick up job to meet the men that hired them. As Dutch and Revy stepped to the dock to finish the deal, Rock helped Benny shut the boat down for the night. The gunfire started just as Rock came back on deck. Rock dove for cover but it was all over in about three seconds. Revy got four of them and Dutch got the leader but not before the leader shot Revy.

Then Dutch started hollering for Rock. "ROCK! ROCK HELP ME! REVY"S HURT BAD!" Rock went cold as he leaped to the dock to find Dutch holding Revy's limp form in his arms. He saw her eyes opened wide but rolled back into her head. Blood gushed from the hole in her chest as her head hung limp with her mouth hanging open. She already looked dead.

Rock tore off his shirt and ripped it into pieces as Dutch eased Revy to the dock. He began to poke the shirt into the hole and hold pressure on it as Benny hit the dock with the first aid kit.

"Oh shit, oh shit, that's really bad!" Benny said. Rock raised his hands as Benny put a field bandage on the wound. As Rock put pressure back on the wound Benny tied off the bandage and felt around Revy's back looking for an exit wound. "Damn!" Benny said, "its not an in an out, the bullet is still in there."

Dutch had raced for the car as soon as Benny had shown up and had it ready when Rock and Benny picked her up and carried her to it. The smell of burnt rubber and the scream of tires permeated the air as the big V8 engine roared away.

That had been ten hours ago and now Rock sat alone waiting. The doctor had come to them after they came out of surgery to give them an update. The bullet had been lodged next to her heart and she had flat-lined twice while they were taking it out. He told Rock it was nothing but luck they had been able to bring her back and he only gave her a 20% chance to make it through the night.

Then there had been a procession of people in and out to check on Revy and see him. First had been Chief Watsup, he collected Dutch and Benny to go clean up the mess at the dock but told Rock he was sorry and to stay with Revy. Then Balalaika and Boris showed up. After talking to Rock and the doctors for a few minutes they left Rock with orders to contact them if there were any change or if he needed anything.

Boss Chang and Biu were next. Rock could tell Chang was pissed off and wanted to know more about the shooters. Rock told him what he could and Chang sat with him a while talking about crazy things Revy had done over the years. Chang said he would send someone to check in later. As he left he stopped at the end of the hall and looked back on Rock, sitting with his head in his hands, broken. Chang shook his head and walked away.

After midnight Rock jerked awake from where he had nodded off in the chair. As he rubbed his eyes to clear the sleep he felt… a presence. Looking to his left down the hall he saw a small figure dressed in white scrubs standing looking at him. Black hair hung from under her cap and her half lidded dead eyes were locked on him as Frederica Sawyer started walking slowly down the hall towards him.

Every muscle in Rock's body seized up as he looked at the room Revy was in and then back at Sawyer the Cleaner. She stopped in the middle of the hall next to him and gazed at the door of the room in interest before looking back at Rock.

"No…" Rock whimpered as he fell to his knees before her, "Please don't take her from me." Rock reached out and put his arms around her waist and pressed his forehead to her stomach. He began to sob as he said, "I just found her… Sawyer please I can't lose her yet… I don't know if I could live without her now…"

Sawyer just stood looking down at the sobbing man. She slowly raised her right hand and began to stroke his hair. "Rock?" She said in her machine voice, "I'm not…here for her…I'm here…for you." Rock's sobs suddenly stopped with a grasp. He looked up at her and said, "You can do that? Take me instead of her?"

Sawyer stared down at him and sighed. "Rock, I was in…the area…on business. Chang…asked me…to look in…on you…silly boy." She said. Rock just stared at her as she continued to stroke his hair like she was petting a dog or cat.

Just then the door to Revy's room opened and the doctor walked out to see the scene before him. He paused with a puzzled look on his face and said, "Ah hmm, Sawyer? What are you doing here?" Sawyer smiled slightly as she raised her left hand and wiggled her fingers at the doctor in greeting. "Just checking…on a friend…doctor." She said as she continued to pet Rock.

"Eh…" the doctor said with a stunned look on his face. He cleared his throat and said, "Son, she suddenly took a turn for the better. I don't know why or how but all of a sudden her vital signs started climbing and I feel like she is out of danger now."

Rock let go of Sawyer and stood up. "Really doctor? You think she is going to be ok now?' He asked with hope in his voice. The doctor nodded and said, "I think so. If she continues to improve like this we will put her in a regular room tomorrow." "Can I see her?" Rock asked.

The doctor shook his head and said, "Not yet, in the morning maybe. I would rather you go somewhere and get some sleep. I'll see you then." He nodded at Sawyer and walked off down the hall.

As Rock stood staring at the door of Revy's room he suddenly felt an arm around his waist. Looking down he saw that Sawyer had slid closer to him. She had put her right arm around his back while she began to scratch at his chest with one of the fingernails of her left hand.

"Eh…Sawyer?" Rock said as he looked down into the eyes of the Goth girl. "Makes you… wonder… doesn't it… Rock." She said, "Did Revy… feel my presence… and start… to fight… because she was… afraid… I was… going to… take her… man away?"

Rock was so stunned all he could do is stand and look at her. She smiled slightly and turned away heading back down the hall the way she had come. After about ten feet she stopped, feet shoulder width apart and looked back at Rock with her head tilted to one side. "You owe me… Rock…" She purred, "One day… I will come… to collect… my debt." She wiggled her fingers at him in goodbye and walked off down the hall and around the corner.

Rock's eyes rolled back inside his head as he hit the floor with a thump. About twenty seconds later Eda, in her nun's robes, walked around the corner saying, "Thanks Sawyer, I'm glad to hear that." She walked up, stopped and leaned over Rock thinking, "Damn! He must have passed out in relief when it finally hit him Revy is going to be ok."

Sawyer stopped down the hall and waited for it. Suddenly Rock shrieked in terror as he opened his eyes to find a figure in black looming over him. She snickered to herself as she headed to the morgue on her business. "This will be good for months of fun!" She thought, "And just wait till next Halloween!"

A/N: I had this laying around for a while waiting on editing. As always please read and review all of my stories.