Disclaimers: I own nothing or anyone associated or affiliated with TNA. I own only the original characters. This is just a fictional story that came from my imagination.
Chapter Content & Trigger Warnings: blood

Chapter 8

Joe carried Ella through the woods at a swift jog, being mindful of logs, branches and twigs which might hinder his speed, all while keeping his eyes peeled for Jeff's truck.

"I'm not going to lose you, Ella," he panted as he ran, his mind not willing to comprehend life without her. "I told you… I won't let you die. I refuse to. So, you'd better get ready to fight, sweetheart. Fight for me."

What seemed like a long while yet couldn't have been more than a few moments, Joe reached the road and saw Ella's uncle waiting impatiently for them in his truck only a few feet away from them.

Immediately Jeff spotted the two, then jumped out of the vehicle and ran to meet them.

"How is she," he demanded, terror in his blue eyes. He reached for her wrist and felt her pulse. Joe knew there wasn't anything he could say to ease Jeff's worry.

"Get her in the truck," Jeff said urgently, darting over to the vehicle and opening the passenger side door for Joe. He made sure they both were securely inside and then slammed the door shut. Seconds later, he was speeding back down the road to the mansion.

Joe uttered a curse when they reached the circular driveway. "The medics aren't even here yet."

"Let's get her inside where it's warm till they get here," Jeff said, killing the engine. He climbed out of the large truck and in the next instant had the passenger side door open and was about to pull Ella's lifeless frame into his arms when Joe stopped him.

"Please, Jeff… Let me," he pleaded.

He saw the desperation in Joe's black eyes and complied, then hurried to open the door to the mansion. Joe grunted in pain then, and Jeff turned to see what happened.

"You okay, kid," he called, concern etching his forehead.

"Yeah," Joe answered, making his way to the door with Ella cradled in his arms. "I just got nicked by a bullet."

When we get to the hospital, you need to get it checked out," Jeff said, standing aside to let him in the house.

"Eh, maybe," Joe muttered, carrying Ella into the foyer. "It's nothing. Ella is what matters."

They were greeted by Nina and the Knockouts then. The women immediately broke into tears at seeing the state Ella was in. She had bruises all over her slender frame, cuts on her face and mouth, and two large wounds in her shoulder and stomach which were still bleeding profusely.

"Have you heard anything about the MedEvac copter," Jeff asked Nina, his nerves shot beyond belief. "They need to hurry."

"We—we haven't," she replied. Her eyes fully took in Ella's appearance then and she paled drastically. "Oh, my God. I hope they get here soon."

"They better," Joe muttered, finally seeing the full extent of Ella's injuries now that they had light to see by. He felt ill. "Where's a bed, or sofa I can lay her on," he asked, trying to focus his attention on what needed to be done, rather than what could happen if Ella didn't get help soon. He could see Nina needed to keep her mind occupied. "She needs to lie down, Nina," he said softly. "Where's something to lay her on?"

"There's a den, just d-down the ha-hall," she stammered. She led him and the others through the long hallway, their footsteps echoing on the marble floors. "There's a large sofa in there."

It hurt to look at her niece. It was too much of a shock to see her in such horrible condition, when only a couple hours prior, Ella had been so full of life. She rushed ahead and began adjusting the huge leather sofa's decorative pillows so Ella would be more comfortable. "Oh, God," she finally erupted with a sob. "What did those monsters do to her?"

Jeff turned his wife's face to his as Joe laid Ella down on the sofa, and spoke gently. "Honey, we need towels, okay? Go get a lot of them so we can treat Ella till the medics get here."

Wiping her eyes and trying to gain some composure, Nina nodded, and turned to leave the room. Right afterward, they heard the other men hurrying down the hallway and conversing with Nina. Then they came charging into the room, propping their rifles against the wall.

AJ charged ahead of the others. "How is she?" His eyes fell on Ella then and he gaped at her condition. "Dear God… No…" He darted over to her and looked over at Jeff and Joe. "Is she…?" Words were hard to find as the group of men saw the battered body of Ella Roberts.

Joe was easing his coat off of her to inspect her injuries more closely. "No. She's alive. But she won't be for long if the medics don't hurry up."

"Was she stabbed or shot," Kurt Angle asked, eyeing her wounds.

"She was shot twice," Joe answered in a low tone of voice. "And beaten. Badly. I killed the man who hurt her." He shook his head as if to clear it. "We can talk about all this later. Right now, she needs our help. Let's turn her so we can get to her wounds."

Together, Joe and Jeff shifted Ella so she lay on her side, and the wound in her stomach and shoulder were both accessible.

Nina returned with a pile of towels then, and handed them over to Joe.

"What did they want with her," Alex finally exploded, breaking his silence. The TNA jokester had no humor left in him. "Was she able to tell you anything?"

Joe paused and nearly broke down. "Sh—she said to tell you all that she loves you very much." He heard several female sobs and weeping.

Jeff put his hand on Joe's shoulder. "She'll be okay, Joe," he said, his voice cracking. "We'll all get her through this."

Joe forced himself to clear his mind of emotion. He had to, or he would be no help to Ella.

He looked at Jeff, handing him a couple of towels. "Here, why don't you take her shoulder wound and I'll get the one in front?"

The older wrestler nodded as he situated the towels on each side of Ella's shoulder and pressed inward. Immediately, her eyes shot open and she cried out in pain.

"I'm sorry, baby," Joe said softly, getting his own towel ready, and moving her hair aside. "I know it hurts, but we have to do this." With that, he pushed in hard on the towel, trying to cut off the blood flow from the larger wound. Ella struggled and gasped for air, and Joe didn't know if it was due to pain, or fighting for oxygen. "Somebody take her hand—calm her down," he ordered, his voice cracking with emotion. "She'll breathe easier if she's calm."

Angel stepped forward and knelt down to Ella's level, taking her hand. "Try to relax, Ella," she whispered. "I know it's hard, sweetie, but you need to try."

Ella's struggles worsened, however. "Can't—brea…breathe—hurts…" She managed to choke out the words. Her panic would not allow her to stop fighting them.

"The copter's landing," Jessica shouted from the window. The eccentric Knockout had lost all her usual rowdy behavior. Her face was the picture-definition of somber. "I'll go let them in."

Ella's struggles intensified as Jessica left the room, and their worry grew. They could hear her gasping, but it was as if she was receiving no air.

"Ella—honey, you're gonna be okay," Joe said, fighting off a wave of panic. She did not seem to hear him. Her hands went to her midsection and tried to pry his hands loose. He hated that he was hurting her, but he didn't budge. She braced herself against the pain as best she could when she saw she was unable to move his hands.

"Is something wrong with her ribs," Matt Morgan asked from within the large circle of friends. His face reflected his worry the same as everyone else. Even though he had known her for only a short time, Ella had won him over as easily as she had won over her lifelong friends. "I mean—she's holding her middle, and she can't breathe…"

Joe looked down at her and noted that she was indeed holding her ribs. Her panic seemed to be subsiding, but he quickly realized it was simply because she was losing her battle. He growled out a curse and glanced down at her dress. "We need to look at her ribs. Nina, hand me another towel so I can cover her chest. And do you have any scissors?" Nina quickly handed a towel over, and then hurried over to a desk, grabbing up a pair of scissors for Joe.

Quickly, Joe laid the towel across Ella's chest and then began cutting her dress down the side of the corset. Carefully, he pulled away a scrap of her dress's bodice, and took a look at her side. They all froze. They could find no words, as they stared at her blackened ribs. The side was swollen as well, and they knew if help did not get there soon, it would be too late for her.

"Punctured lung," Jeff bit out.

"Those paramedics better hurry—" Joe cut off at that moment when he heard rapid footsteps coming down the hallway, along with the sound of a gurney rolling over the hard floor.

"She's in here—please, hurry!"

They all looked to see that Talia had rushed to the den's door to direct the paramedics inside. Jessica was then ushering a couple of medics and a nurse into the room in a hurry. Once they spotted Ella on the sofa they hurried over with the gurney and instructed Joe and Jeff to move aside. In a matter of seconds, they had her on the rolling stretcher and were getting an IV started on her.

"We think she has a punctured lung," Jeff said. "She can't breathe—please do something."

Immediately the older of the medics put his stethoscope in his ears and began listening to her lungs. He seemed to nod a bit, and then began feeling around both sides of her rib cage. "Collapsed lung. We need a needle decompression, stat." The other medic, a younger female, began pulling out needles, saline, alcohol and betadine wipes as well as some dressings. The nurse began opening the packages and setting up the equipment. "We only need those related to her in the room. Everyone else, please leave. We're going to have to partially undress her."

Normally everyone would have argued to stay, but when they realized the request was for the sake of Ella's modesty, they filed out of the room. Only Jeff, Nina and Joe remained.

"Son, are you related to the girl," the male medic asked Joe skeptically, as the nurse began cutting away at the rest of Ella's bodice.

"I'll look away, but I'm not leaving her," Joe said, with a stubborn set to his jaw. And true to his word, he turned his face away, right before the nurse pulled a large flap of Ella's dress aside.

"Kid, you need to—"

"The boy stays," Jeff cut in determinedly, also looking away from Ella. "He saved her life. He stays."

"Fine," the medic relented as he began prodding out from her midsternal line to locate her midclavicular line. From there, he began palpating to find the second intercostal space, where the large needle needed to be inserted. Upon finding it, he swiped a betadine wipe over the area a few times and positioned the needle, and attached catheter, just above her breast, before pushing it down into her chest.

Nina had to look away then, unable to handle watching such grotesque treatment of her niece, even though it was to help the young girl survive.

"Daddy…help m-me…hurts…" the whispered words escaped Ella's lips, as the treatment was administered, the only sign she could feel anything. Joe clenched his eyes shut, and rubbed his temples, trying to remain calm. He knew they were helping her, but he was never able to handle any of his loved ones being in pain.

"Ella," the nurse spoke as the medic finished the procedure by taping the catheter securely. "Ella, if you can hear me, just hang in there, dear. The worst is over. You'll be able to breathe better soon."

"She'll need a chest tube when we get her to the hospital," the male medic said. "And she shouldn't fly in this condition, but I don't see that we have a choice."
"She has multiple gunshot wounds, and she's in shock," the female medic said. "Blood pressure's dropping; 81 over 52. Pulse is 38, and thready." She looked up at Jeff and Nina. "Are you two relatives?"

"I'm her uncle," Jeff said, still not looking at Ella. "This is my wife," he indicated Nina.

"Is she allergic to any medications that you know of?"

Jeff shook his head, "I don't think so."

She nodded and returned to work. Grabbing up some vials of liquid and some syringes, she spoke again, "Since she's in shock right now, we need to get her stabilized as soon as possible. I'll give her twenty micrograms of Dobutamine over the next fifteen minutes," she stated as she drew up the medicine. "We'll check her vitals again and see if there's any improvement. I also want to give her five milligrams of morphine, for pain—in case she regains consciousness."

"We've covered her with a blanket now," the nurse interjected. "So if you want to see her to talk to her, she's not exposed."

Joe and Jeff turned to find Ella still pale and lifeless on the gurney. "Is she going to be okay," Jeff asked. The shock of the night was beginning to tell on him, Joe could see it.

"We're doing everything we can, sir," the male medic said kindly. "But I can't really say, I'm sorry. That's a doctor's place. I can tell you we will give her the best medical attention possible."

Jeff nodded as if he understood, but Joe could see he wasn't registering a word the man said. He put his arm around his shoulders.

"It'll be okay, Jeff," he said softly. He was also worried, but he could see Jeff needed the reassurance.

A few minutes later, the medics and nurse finished stabilizing Ella and raised her gurney.

"We've done all we can do here," the male medic informed them. "We need to get her to the hospital to be further treated."

"Who's coming with us," the other medic asked. "We only have room for two."

"We are," Jeff replied, indicating himself and Nina, placing his arm around her shoulders.

Nina saw the stress on Joe's face. She knew he would worry even more if he was not on the helicopter. "Honey," she said, "Why don't you take Joe with you? I could bring the car when the road is cleared. We'll need transportation home anyway."

Joe looked at Nina with total gratitude. He could not believe the lengths she was taking to make him more comfortable and at ease, when she had to be as stressed as anyone. "That's very nice of you, Nina—but I couldn't-"

"Are you sure, babe," Jeff asked, ignoring Joe's decline. He brushed some of her brown hair back, and affectionately squeezed her shoulder.

Nina nodded, "Of course. I'll get to the hospital as soon as I can. I will also call and see if the police can meet everyone up at the hospital because it'll take forever for them to get through here."

Jeff nodded and patted Joe's back, "Come on, Joe. You saved my niece, so you deserve to ride along with her too."

"Thank you," Joe said to both Jeff and Nina. They were surprised to see the young Samoan's dark eyes welling with tears. "You don't know what this means to me."

Nina gave him an encouraging smile and a hug. "I think I do," she said softly, giving him a meaningful stare. "And you're welcome."

"Okay, let's get going. Our pilot's outside in the copter, ready to lift off as soon as we get her loaded," the male medic said. He saw the worry on Jeff's and Joe's faces. "Try not to worry. She is in good hands," he told them kindly. His eyes caught sight of Joe's bloody side. "What happened? Is that your blood?"

For a moment, Joe did not realize what he was talking about. But then he followed the man's gaze to his waist and it hit him. "Oh, a bullet grazed me, nothing serious."

"You need to let me check you over once we get settled and in the air. From the amount of blood I see from here, it appears as though the wound may just need cleaning and a bandage, otherwise it could easily get infected."

Joe nodded in agreement, then he and Jeff followed the paramedics out the door as they carried Ella across the land to the helicopter.

The medical crew seemed as if they weren't very sure Ella would pull through, but he couldn't let himself think about the possibility. He had to believe she would live.
Will she get to be the same when this is all over, Joe wondered sadly as he took a seat next to Jeff on the copter.

He hoped she would in time. Even if it meant she would still hate him. He knew it would most definitely take a long time for her to feel secure with anything again. But he could not handle thinking the woman he loved would be haunted and miserable for the whole rest of her life.