Disclaimer: I do not own Saving Hope, or my favourite character would not have died at the end of season 3. I mean, seriously, it just wasn't the same after that, I couldn't watch further than the first 5 minutes of season 4. I'm also not sure if I'm going to continue this further than the end of the chapter, or just end it and leave the rest to your imagination... Some people might kill me for that...

Normal

'Thoughts'

Takes part in the very near future

Chapter 1

Joel Goran walked into the ER where Zack was waiting for him with a patient file in hand. Today has actually been quiet for a change.

"What have you got for me, Miller?" he asked the ER doctor. Zack gestured for him to follow. They walked over to a bed in a corner of the room. A blonde woman in about her 40s was sat on the bed.

"Miss Petunia Langton, 43. Miss Langton this is Dr Goran. He'll be your doctor." Zack turned around and murmured to Joel, "good luck with this one." Joel smirked at him slightly before turning to face his patient.

"Alright, Miss Langton, I need you to tell me what happened, why you're here. Any specific pains at all?"

"Someone get me a stretcher and 2 pints O-! He's bleeding out, we need to get him into surgery now! And get me Dr Bell!"

"It's my shoulder," she said with a grimace. "It hasn't felt like this in years, I actually can't remember what was wrong with it before it's been so long, but I was making lunch for my brother and his wife and it just spasms, I mean, I dropped the pan on my foot too and now thinking about it makes that start hurting again."

"Ok, well, for the moment, we'll do a CT on your shoulder. It shouldn't take too long. Now, your foot, I'd so is fine, but I'll need to take a closer look."

"Yeah, sure. I mean, it's not like it hurts or anything unless I'm actually thinking about it. Is that normal?"

"A lot of people find that, and usually they're fine, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't check. Take your sock off please?"

"I'm here! Give me some room!" a few seconds passed before she spoke again as they were running the body on the stretcher to the closest OR, Dawn trying to stem the blood flow. "Stop! He's crashing, get me the cart!"

Joel smiled at the patient as she answered his last question.

"OK, your foot is fine, but I'll still need to send you for a CT for your shoulder, and blood work done just in case. Jackson. Get me a CT of her shoulder please, whilst I take the blood sample for tests." Jackson nodded and wheeled her away.

Joel was walking back to the ER after delivering the blood for testing when the screaming started, followed by several rounds of gunfire. He paused for only a split second before breaking into a run in the direction all the noise was coming from, along with several other doctors and nurses. Others stayed with the patients in the hallways or already in their rooms in order to keep them calm. Just as he got to the doorway, he was harshly pulled inside and thrown to the ground by the desk, hitting his head, not too badly, by a man about 5'9 waving a gun in his hand. About 10 minutes later, that seemed to have the entire population of Hope Zion crammed into the ER and the surrounding corridors and rooms, each guarded by two people.

"Clear!" Everyone backed up a bit as Alex pressed the paddles to his chest, making it jump. "Nothing. Again!" Dawn called. "3,2,1, clear!" This time, his heart started beating again. "OK, go!" Dawn shouted and they started wheeling him to the ER again.

Alex was next to him by the desk.

"Are you OK?" he asked her, worried. Alex nodded slightly. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine Joel." He studied her, looking for any sign that she was doing her usual thing of hiding it when she felt something was wrong. Apparently, he was satisfied with what he found, because he nodded, breathing a small sigh of relief.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"It was on the news just before they came in. A group of guys robbed a bank and the police blocked him off on this block. They killed one of the tellers." Alex looked him over, noticing a little blood on the back of his head, almost blending into his messy dark hair. "Are you OK?" Joel gave her a look that said he was surprised she was even asking.

"I'm good."

"Are you sure? Because I saw you hit your head earlier." His hands reflexively went up to touch the spot on the back of his head, but Alex caught it and brought it back down again, automatically curling her fingers between his without realising.

"My head is fine," he told her. "It doesn't even hurt anymore."

"I need you to repeat these letters to me backwards, OK?" Joel sighed but nodded, knowing that it was better to just give Alex Reid what she wanted instead of fighting her. "OK.. 5, 9, 24, 15,10."

"10, 15, 24... Um... 9, 6?"

"Not too hard my ass," Alex said, quieting down a little bit as one of the gunmen walked past, glaring at them. He passed. "You've got a concussion. You got confused after the third number, and got the fifth wrong. You must have hit it harder than you thought."

"The bullet hit the aorta, that's why it's bleeding so much, I'm going to have to suture it back together."

"You!" shouted one of the gunmen, storming towards them, gun pointed at Alex. "I've said to shut up. Was I not clear?"

"Back off, mate," Joel snapped. The gun was then turned on Joel.

"What did you just say to me?"

"I said back off. Or was I not clear?" he said, clearly mocking him with that last bit, despite all Alex's warnings to please just be quiet. The man laughed incredulously as he looked back at his - rather large – gang.

"BP rising!"

Dawn started swearing mentally. "We need to get it back down!" She couldn't stop. He should die. Chances of survival were already low, she was not about to quit now.

"Joel, leave it," Alex said, putting a hand on his arm. The gunman heaved had up by the arm and pulled her away from him.

"What did we say when we first gathered you all in here, hmm? What did we say?"

"What did I say mate?" Joel said, getting a little bit unsteadily to his feet. Yeah, he could see what Alex was saying about him having a concussion now. "I said, back off." It only took a spilt second, but in that split second, two things happened. 1, the doors crashed open to allow the police and swat into the hospital. 2, the gun went off. It was at that point which Joel fell to the ground. Alex rushed over to where he was already lying in a pool of blood as soon as the gunman – the one who had shot Joel! – had loosened his grip, calling for a stretcher.

10 minutes later, she was watching the BP monitor for any sign of improvement.

"Come on Joel. Pull through..."

But will he? OK, guys, send a review if you want another chapter to this, or even if you don't just send a review anyway, because I love to see what you guys think. Also, not a doctor, so that treatment may not be exactly right.

- Kyrian Mikaelson