Just A Moment

Not Out of the Woods

Joe stood up from his seat on the crate and caressed Hope's face gently. Hope smiled up at him weakly, and he pulled her into his arms for a comforting hug. Much to her dismay, Hope felt hot tears flowing from within her at the action.

'Shh.' Joe whispered sympathetically. 'It's alright now. He can't hurt you. I've got you.'

Hope's shoulders began to shake, and she hiccupped slightly as she took a deep breath to steady her tears. 'I... He... If you hadn't been there...'

'But I was.' Joe reminded her firmly. He pushed a space between them and met Hope's eyes. 'You're safe now.'

'I'll never be able to repay you.' Hope said genuinely.

Joe smiled, then groaned in pain, rubbing the back of his head. 'I don't need repaying. I'm only happy you're ok.'

'You got into a fight with Bobby to save me, Joe.' Hope touched his arm softly. 'I think that deserves at least a thank you. There was no need for you to get involved.'

Joe shrugged, not meeting Hope's eyes. 'There was. What he tried to do was wrong; I would have done the same with any girl. And anyways, I will always like you, Hope. You'll always be my partner.'

'Don't be silly; you'll find a new partner soon.' Hope tried to mask the hurt in her voice at that thought.

'Nah.' Joe took a heavy seat upon one of the upturned crates, closing his eyes briefly, an expression of pain flickering across his face. 'I realised the minute you walked out of that bus shelter that I didn't want any of it unless you were there with me. There had always been something not quite right about it all before I met you, and I only found what I really wanted when I found you.'

Hope's breath caught in her throat, and his open honesty made tears prick in the back of her eyes. She knelt down before him. 'You can't give up on your dream just because of me.'

Joe smiled at her. 'You still don't get it, do you? It was our dream, Hope. Us. Being together. Taking down the world on our own terms. None of it means anything to me without you.'

Hope stood and looked away, consumed by guilt. 'I'm sorry, but I can't... I just can't leave... not after everything.'

Joe stood up instantly and was at her back. 'I understand.' His cool tenor tone soothed Hope as usual. Turning slowly to face him, Hope saw understanding in his expressive eyes. 'I didn't at first, because I was only thinking of myself, but now I do. You're scared; you have every right to be. You have responsibilities, and I get that. I just wish you could see your responsibility to yourself. You have so much potential. I – '

Suddenly Joe's eyes rolled back into his head and he began to sway, falling to his knees. Hope joined him, concern at the sudden movement.

'Oh my God, Joe, what's wrong?!'

As Joe's head fell forward, it did not take long to ascertain his issue. His head was cracked open and was bleeding quite heavily into his hairline, leaving a damp dark patch and a small trickle of blood trailing down his neck. That explained the sudden drowsiness.

'What happened?' Hope could tell her voice was high pitched and hysterical.

'Bobby hit me.' Joe groaned. 'Threw me up against the wall.'

'But you knocked him out.' Hope said in confusion.

'He's a big guy, Hope.' Joe tried to look up through painful eyelids. 'He tried to give back as good as he got. I got him down before he got me down; that was all that determined how the fight turned out.'

Hope softly placed her fingertips close to the wound on Joe's head, seeing the blood effusing onto his hair, matting it to his head. 'We need to get you to the hospital.'

'Yeah I know. I'll be alright if I can only...' Joe tried to stand but failed.

'You won't be getting up anytime soon.' Hope said firmly, rising up to her feet. 'Just sit there. I'm going to call an ambulance or something.'

Hope scanned the alleyway, reaching down into her pocket for her cell phone. There was no signal. The only option was to leave Joe, but his eyes were closing, and she didn't want to risk leaving him. It could be fatal, she thought. She didn't know how much blood he'd lost during their conversation. Head wounds were serious, she knew.

'I need you to stay with me. I know it may be hard, but if you lose consciousness, I don't know what I'm going to do.' Hope crouched before him, placing her hands on his knees to get his attention as she looked up into his face.

Joe looked down with a wry smile. 'I'm trying, believe me.'

'You are not going to die on me, Joe. Promise me that.' Hope bit her lip, trying to repress any emotion.

Joe's eyes glowed. 'So, you do like me.'

Hope smiled, glad of a small distraction. 'Yes, I suppose I do. Don't let it get to your head though; you've got way more important things to think about right now.'

Hope could see Joe's consciousness slipping away from the vague look in his eyes, and she tried shaking him, but soon his eyes went blank and he slumped backward, sign that he had passed out. At least, that was what she hoped it meant as she moved around to support his relaxed figure.

Shrugging off her hoodie, Hope folded the fabric into a makeshift square bandage and pressed it against Joe's head firmly. She wasn't sure how much help it would do, but she had seen the technique in a movie before so thought it was worth a try. At this moment, Hope really wished she'd signed up for first aid class.

Staring down at her useless phone again in despair, Hope sighed in frustration. Without any other options, Hope did the only thing she knew would get a response. Raising her voice and howling out into the night, hoping that a group of bruising young men would come help her and Joe, Hope drilled out the tune that she had heard the gang sing so many times before.