.O.

March 26 had been an eventful date in Walter's memory. He had seen Jamie once again, and she smiled at him and whisper 'hi' as she went to get a job with Mr. Greer. Walter didn't like the way Mr. Greer looked at Jamie, but what could he do? Looking at a woman wasn't a crime, though the way Greer did should be.

They were in the office for about twenty minutes, the door wide open, and Walter could hear her dodging inappropriate questions while giving her qualifications to Mr. Greer. But the sweaty leach wasn't having any of it. He told her that she wasn't going to get the job, but he would willingly buy any freelanced designs she had.

She stormed out of the office, her flats quietly slapping the splintered hardwood. Walter asked for his lunch hour, and Mr. Greer unhappily let him go. He quickly caught up with Jamie.

"I'm sorry Greer is such a creep." Walter apologized to her, though he wasn't quite sure why he was doing so. Mr. Greer sure as hell wasn't sorry at all.

'Because you're so weak, you take the blame for others,' whispered the dark voice in the back of his mind.

"No, it's alright. He knows what he is, and I hope to God I find him in the streets at night. He'll have what's coming to him, the molester." She mumbled, and Walter looked at her with widened eyes. She wasn't even hiding her identity that well! How had he gone so long without knowing she was Muse?

'Again, because you're weak and unobservant. She's been giving you hints this whole time. She even wears the same chap stick.'

"Shut up." Walter whispered to himself, to the mean voice.

"I'm sorry, what?" Jamie turned to him.

"Nothing."

"O…kay. Well, I've got to get to the bakery. They said they wanted me in as soon as I was done with my interview. Want a bagel? My treat," she tempted him with pastry, but he was intending on eating lunch there anyway. That bakery made the best cherry cupcakes. They put sugar cubes on top as decoration, and he was beginning to really like them.

That night had been just as eventful. He had taken up patrol with Daniel, or Niteowl. They had taken care of some kids smoking crack in an ally, and were just getting warmed up when they heard the first shot. It was followed by a scream that made Rorschach's blood run cold. It sounded like death. But after that, three gunshots rang out through the sky, a signal to all those within its sound range to stay indoors, lest they become the next victims of the sound. But unlike the other citizens, Daniel and Rorschach ran toward the sounds.

It was only five blocks away, which wasn't that bad, especially at a run, but the sight that greeted them stopped them in their tracks. Muse was unmasked, sprawled on the ground, with four bullet wounds leaking her lifeblood all over the concrete. Her breathing was quick and uneven, like a scared animal's. Her hazel eyes had tears clinging to the long dark lashes that framed them. It was a strange and distressing sight for Daniel, but it was strangely heartbreaking for Rorschach. It was stranger than fiction, what was happening. Jamie, his poor Jamie, was bleeding out from the violence of an assailant. She lifted her head and weakly smiled at Rorschach.

"You should see the other guy. Shot me this many times just to get me away." She joked thinly. He cringed when she coughed up blood as well.

"This is ridiculous, we need to get you to a hospital!" Daniel cried as he hoisted Jamie over his shoulder and hauled her out into the street. Rorschach knew that wouldn't happen. They wouldn't get there before she bled out. But he had the facilities to treat bullet wounds. He used them on himself plenty of times… And his home was nearby…

"Daniel, follow me. We'll treat her." He ran in front of Niteowl, making sure he was behind him every once and a while. The faster they got to his place five blocks away, the better.

It had taken ten minutes to get to his crummy apartment building, and Rorschach was starting to lose what composure he still had.

'It's just a woman, calm down. If she dies, well, that's her own fault for being stupid. Always be prepared and vigilant, right?' the cold voice in his head growled. Walter had started to notice that the voice had started showing up more frequently when he had on his face. Sometimes, he would black out, and when he came to, it was morning, and the voice would say 'you're welcome' smugly. That scared him more than anything. He abandoned his train of morbid thought as Daniel carried her inside bridal style.

Walter hurriedly swept off his small kitchen table, old take out boxes and newspapers falling to the floor with a sharp flutter. If Jamie hadn't been bleeding out, he might have considered taking a rag and cleaning off the coffee rings and a stain from the newspaper ink, but that just wasn't going to happen in the current situation.

Daniel placed her carefully on the creaky table, her legs and arms dangling off the sides. She was starting to look a little woozy. He ripped his Niteowl goggles off and pulled his mask back to get a good look at what he was handling while Rorschach fetched his somewhat expansive first aid kit. Walter was thankful he had actually invested a good deal of his first few paychecks for this kit, as it had everything they needed for bullet extraction and suture. He had pulled at least three bullets from himself since he had started the vigilante bit.

"Hey, Rorschach," Jamie smiled at him like a loon as Daniel pulled on the sterile gloves and the washed tweezers.

"Thank God these were slowed down by the Kevlar. It didn't hold up as well as it should have, though." Daniel murmured as he dropped the first bullet into the aluminum bowl. It clinked against the metal surface, and for the first time, Rorschach thought he would be sick from the sound.

"Yeah, he got me point blank." Muse was back in place as she hardened her gaze. "He was selling to kids. I got the kids out of there, and asked who his boss was. We got into fisticuffs, and he pulled a fast one and shot me. Messed up his face though. He's got a broken nose, a black eye, and a good gash across his left forearm." She reported clearly, though it was obvious she was starting to lose consciousness.

"Don't you dare fall asleep," Rorschach warned. The bullet from her arm, and two from her side were out. He was sewing her up as fast as he could, using his dress making skills to his advantage. "Ms. Cooper, you have to stay awake." He looked up at her face to see her eyes starting to glaze over in exhaustion. "Jamie, dammit, stay awake!"

He mentally cursed at himself for both revealing her identity and for shocking Daniel with his outburst. "What are you looking at, Daniel, finish extracting that bullet!"

Daniel nodded quickly and resumed his last task, digging out the last bullet. This one had not hit any veins or organs, but it was going to leave a nasty scar on her breast. He felt awkward having to put hands on her like that to get it out, but he had little choice. At least he was skilled enough to extract all of these without taking off her suit, even though technically he was supposed to.

"Thank you, Daniel. I'll take it from here." Rorschach dismissed him, and Niteowl complied. After he heard the door shut firmly, Walter ripped off his Rorschach mask, revealing his bright red hair and freckles. He needed to see clearly what he was doing for this last one, mainly because the skin shifted easier on a woman's breast, and he wasn't that strong of a tailor to start with.

He would have been more reluctant, but he worried for her safety. Carefully, he pulled down the zipper of her suit and pulled one side of it away from her, revealing a very blood soaked brazier. It was simple in design, and he would have guessed it was blue at one point, because it was a deep purple now. He gingerly cut it off of her using scissors, severing the strap. He could clearly see the bullet hole in the cup of it. Walter put aside his reservations about the female gender and got to work, being ever so gentile with her bloody breast.

'You should have been more vigilant,' whispered the gravelly voice in his head. 'Look.'

"Walter?" murmured Jamie. She didn't look anywhere near lucid, but she was still able to put a name to the face. "Are you Rorschach?"

Walter finished the last suture and tied off the stitches. After he cut the excess string off, he looked her in the eye. "Yes. I am. And you are Muse."

"Yeah, I guess I am. So we've been partners this whole time, and we didn't know who the other person was?"

"Just go to sleep, Jamie. You need it." He put the supplies away methodically. When he turned his attention back to her, she had passed out, whether from being tired or the blood loss, he didn't know. He carried her to his bed, and he tucked her in tight, knowing if he didn't short sheet the bed, she would roll around until she ripped her stitches. He then camped out on his ratty looking couch. It wasn't comfortable, but she needed a bed more than he did