"The hell?" Ragna zeroed in on a strange noise somewhere in the store. He turned off the water to hear better; it was a man yelling. Concerned, he dried his hands and left the restroom to assess the situation. From his vantage point behind a shelf, his stomach fell when he saw a tall, skinny man by the front counter holding up the register. You've gotta be fucking kidding me! Ragna stifled his growl to remain incognito. The shock on Rachel's face nearly gutted him.

He didn't have long. The guy was frantic, and the way he was speaking indicated he was definitely on some kind of drugs. Ragna needed to be quick and quiet. First he called the police, his phone nearly slipping from his sweaty palms before he moved in closer. From the look on Rachel's face, she noticed him but the robber hadn't. He swallowed hard as his insides turned to jelly. The police precinct was pretty close, but he couldn't wait for them to arrive.

"All the money now, bitch. Let's go, let's go!" the guy shouted. It wouldn't take ten damn minutes to empty out that register, and once she did… god, Ragna almost puked thinking about it.

Rachel's heart pounded so erratically in her chest she thought it might jump out. Her hair stood on end, fearing both for her own life as well as Ragna who crept toward her. She tried to ignore the nausea churning in her stomach and panic telling her to flee as her eyes darted about the shop in search of a weapon, anything to defend herself with. She spotted the crowbar hidden beneath the counter but she couldn't swing it faster than a speeding bullet. Doubtless the man would fire on Ragna if his attention shifted from Rachel, and she definitely didn't want that.

"Hurry up, you bitch!" He popped off a few rounds. Ragna heard a sound of fright from Rachel and was damned if he was going to wait a second longer. The look on her face told him to run away, but that wasn't an option.

With the element of surprise on his side, Ragna ran full speed at the robber. The force of his tackle thankfully knocked the gun out of his hands, and there was nothing stopping him from wailing on the asshole. However, in the rush of adrenaline, Ragna didn't take into account any other weapons the man might possess. He didn't dodge the blade in time, and while he managed to stop the knife from going too deep into his abdomen, the shock was enough to throw him off balance. The assailant got the upper hand and held the knife over his throat to finish the job. Ragna gripped his wrist and tried to push him away but the robber had the upper hand in leverage. The bastard pushed his knee into his wound, draining his strength, brokering painful growls. He closed his eyes awaiting the knife to puncture his skin, but all he heard was dull thwack. Slowly, he opened them to see Rachel holding a crowbar and the robber lying beside him out cold.

"Ragna!" Rachel cried, paling at the sight of blood oozing from his wound. She grabbed some rags to staunch the gash. Moments later the police rushed in to take the robber into custody, filling the store with activity. Regrettably, Rachel had to leave Ragna's side for an EMT to take a look at him while she gave a report of what happened. Almost an hour later the scene had cleared up. Nosy civilians with their phones out went home and an officer suggested Rachel do the same, get some rest. Her heart hadn't stopped pounding. She approached Ragna whose wound had been covered with gauze. He noted she looked as white as a sheet. "Is he okay?" Rachel asked, anxious.

"Yes, he's fine," the medic responded. "The blade didn't go too deep, about twenty millimeters. Despite the lack of severity, we would still like to take him in for evaluation."

"Why?"

"We want to know if anything else was damaged– he lost a decent amount of blood. Nothing life threatening, though."

"Then let me go, would ya?" Ragna groaned. He would much rather be spending time with Rachel instead of being in the hospital.

"Just a safety precaution," the medic assured. "A check for tetanus or any other internal injuries wouldn't hurt, either."

"Fine…" Ragna grumbled something while climbing into the back of the ambulance.

"May I accompany him?" Rachel asked before the doors closed.

The medic shrugged. "As long as the patient doesn't mind."

"I don't mind at all." Ragna scooted over for Rachel to sit beside him, a little stunned that she wanted to be there.

The ambulance cut through traffic, and they arrived at the hospital in less than twenty minutes. Rachel paced in the hallway during Ragna's examination. She knew it wasn't too serious; the bastard had gotten lucky, but that didn't make her any less worried. She was left nibbling on her fingernails for ten whole minutes, which felt longer than any shift at the store, until a nurse came out. "Is he okay?" Rachel demanded, forgetting her manners for a moment. The woman laughed lightly. "Forgive me…" She read her name tag. "Ms. Litchi."

"No no, don't apologize, it's fine. And you don't have to worry, all the tests came back clean." Litchi stepped aside for Ragna to exit the room as Rachel exhaled a breath of relief. "He has even been discharged for the night."

Rachel promised to see him home and Litchi walked the pair out. There was a long, awkward silence for a few blocks. Ragna wasn't sure he could be proud of his actions. "You okay? That guy didn't hurt you?" he wondered.

"He did not. I would be more concerned about your own health, however. You were almost fatally stabbed, after all."

"And you could've been shot. Besides, didn't you hear the nurse? I'm fine. Cut hurts like a mother, though. A good night's sleep and some painkillers, by tomorrow I'll be fine." Ragna led her past a corner, taking a shortcut.

"Just do not push yourself too hard."

Ragna blinked. "No firm telling-off? That's it?"

"Would you rather I watch you at work like some stalker? You are an adult. I am sure I do not need to babysit you." Rachel's entire body warmed when his hand slipped into hers.

"Thanks."

Her gaze fell to the ground. "I am unsure what it is I have done to earn your thanks."

"You stuck by me. Thought I'd tell ya thanks, so thanks."

Rachel couldn't speak and simply nodded. It was just like that day they met. Her speechless, his hand warm and comforting. She shouldn't feel happy in this situation, especially after that near-death experience, but she did. Rachel squeezed back, but felt she did so much too late as they reached his avenue. Ragna also wished he'd seen his street coming up sooner; he would've made a quick turn to walk around the block and savor the moment.

His home wasn't large, but the single floor was far better than her lousy apartment. What saddened her more was the absence of his hand. "Thanks for walkin' me back," Ragna said.

"Do not mention it. Tis the least I could do," Rachel replied.

He gulped, maintaining an even tone. "We still on for Saturday?"

"On for Saturday?" Rachel queried.

"I wanted to know if you had plans this weekend. Because if you're free, I was gonna ask if you wanna hang out," Ragna explained.

"Are you an idiot? Didn't you say you were going to take it easy, or do you require a babysitter?"

Ragna tilted his head in momentary contemplation. "Both. Besides, I think the both of us need to take a load off. How about we hang out at noon? C'mon, Rabbit, it's been so long."

Rachel sighed. "As it has since I have been referred to by that infuriating nickname. Very well. I know nothing I say will stop you. At least this way I can check up on you. But do not lie to me and say you are well when you're far from it."

"Gotcha." Ragna gave her a soft smile and went inside. She stood there for a few moments to register what just happened before heading home. On the other side of the door, Ragna released a long breath he didn't realize he held in. Exhaustion of the day's events finally catching up with him, he plopped down on the couch. A second later his phone rang and he answered with an annoyed, "Hello?"

"Woah woah, easy there." It was Kagura. "Didn't mean to interrupt you and ebony. I was calling to ask if you heard about what happened down on Narrows? The convenience store got robbed."

Word travels fast. Ragna decided to omit his attendance. "First I'm hearing about it. Anyone hurt?"

"No. Beside this one poor guy, no one was seriously injured. The police got there in time. I was just calling because you said you were heading to that area, so I got worried."

"I'm fine. Thanks to that ruckus I had to take a detour. Almost got robbed, but nothing I couldn't handle." Ragna figured that would explain his bandage.

"All right. But you sound exhausted. I'll leave you two alone now."

Ragna growled and Kagura didn't even wait for him to end the call to hang up. He appreciated his concern, but oh if he didn't want to clock the guy in his perfect teeth. He didn't have time to think about him now. He had plans.

Respect for Wild Blue Sonder.