But the dream always ended.

Sunlight danced across the room and the shadows of night faded. In the stark light of day, the situation made its full impact.

Marlena awakened to see the injured man trying to sit up, groaning, apparently about to vomit. Her physician's instincts kicking in, she hurried to his side and helped him position himself so as not to get it all over himself. He moaned again, "Oh... oh.." and then did as she suspected, but it was mostly dry heaves, his body struggling to adjust to the loss of blood and the trauma of a gunshot wound.

When it was over, he was spent, and leaning to his left side, not making a sound, except for that of his labored breathing. Without a word, she went to the bathroom to retrieve a washcloth and towel to help him clean himself up. She also had a cup of water, a substance he desperately needed at this juncture.

Lost in the pain for a moment, he startled at her touch upon her return, then covered his reaction with a sarcastic remark, "Well, if it isn't my own personal Nurse Nightengale..." he said, fighting off the shakiness he felt.

"That's Doctor Evans to you, buster... "

"Alright... no offense intended and it's John... John Stevens, remember?"

She replied with a smirk, "Oh, yes... how could I possibly forget? Must have been the gun you held in my face when we were introducing ourselves...."

"Look... I haven't hurt you and I won't.... "

"I know..... I know... as long as I do what you tell me.... Now, let me get you cleaned up here...."

Hating to be in the dependent role any more than absolutely necessary, he snatched them out of her hands, sitting up again, wiping his own face. Next, he backed her off with his pain filled angry eyes and made the attempt to stand, starting by swinging his legs over the side. Using the bed side table for support, he managed to get his feet on the floor and put his weight down. Marlena watched him, wincing in tandem with his grimaces and stifled groans.

Smiling proudly, he took two steps before his head started to pound, a wave of dizziness washed over him and he faltered. He almost went down, having to brace himself along the wall nearest the bed. Breathing hard, he leaned with his back against it and fought the whole body weakness that threatened to bring him to his knees.

"John... it's too soon...." she offered with the physician's concern, standing nearby in case he fell.

He shut his eyes, calling upon every mental discipline the Old Man ever taught him, then opened them to counter her assertion, thinking the man was probably closing in him. "No... it just might be too late... we're leaving... now!"

"But you can barely stand... how are you...."

He cut her off by raising his left hand, angrier still, for her having pointed out what was painfully clear to him, "I'll manage.... you just worry about yourself..."

"So, I guess this means you aren't going to let me go to my seminar?" she said, stating the obvious.

He shook his head... " Sorry, no can do...."

"Well, then you better let me make some phone calls... because otherwise there are going to be any number of my colleagues coming up here to find out what's wrong. Seems a lot of them fancy me...and they're rather attentive... " she said, using her attractiveness to throw him off balance.

"Okay, okay.. I get your point... now just shut up and let me think!" he yelled, regretting it for the pain it caused in his head. She opened the curtains unannounced and a beam of light came streaming in, seemingly aimed straight at his eyes. Searing hot pain enveloped him.. "AH!" Damn the headaches! He was rubbing his temples and muttering, "Gina.... where are you Gina.... please make it go away...."

"Gina..... who is Gina?" Marlena asked, confused.

He seemed shocked to hear her say it out loud, his eyes narrowed then his face seemed to cloud over with nearly overwhelming sadness as his body sagged... "Gina....Oh...Gina...." he repeated forlornly, wavering again, reality suddenly penetrating his defenses. She was gone, forever she was gone.... "No.... no...."

Not saying anything further, Marlena went to him, and guided him toward the bed, sensing he was on the verge of collapse. Immersed in pain and grief, he didn't offer any resistance. She helped him lie down on his left side and he stayed there for what seemed like an eternity but was actually only a few minutes. Staring out of moist eyes, his body was almost rigid, yet beginning to tremble slightly. It didn't take long to figure out that he was grieving for the aforementioned woman. Had she been killed at the same time he was injured... did she leave him? Whatever the case, he must have loved her, she wasn't with him, and he was hurting. Marlena knew better than to ask for details.

Again, her response was instinctive. She sat quietly by his side, not making a sound, allowing him and his condition to determine their next move. After several moments of intensely strained breathing, he dropped off to a restless sleep again, and she was thankful because she knew her patient needed it. After checking his forehead which seemed a little warmer than normal, she put a cold compress on and left him alone.

Looking at her watch, she noticed that it was almost 8:00am, the time when the continental breakfast was to be served. If she were going to call someone and cancel, she couldn't wait for her captor's permission.

Slowly, she slipped across the room to use the phone on the desk, noticing the number to call for help... Tempted, she glanced backward and then dialed the extension of the woman who was responsible for the entire proceeding. First things first.

"Hello?" answered the other woman, sounding as if she were in a hurry to get downstairs to the conference.

"Good morning... this is Dr. Marlena Evans... I'm calling because.... I'm really not feeling well and I can't possibly speak this morning. I'm so sorry...but I have a terrible headache and some nausea... aches and pains,.. I think it might be the flu or something... but I'm dizzy and can't stand up for very long."

"Oh, my.... well, then you certainly should rest.... don't worry about it, we'll take care of it. I'm sure people will understand."

"Oh thank you.. I was so worried about it... thank you for being so understanding."

"Think nothing of it, you just concentrate on getting well. I'll be sure to check on you later.. take good care."

"I will... thank you again." Marlena wanted to say something more, something that might alert the woman to her predicament, but she hesitated and the moment was lost, the connection was broken.

"So.... you do keep your word.... impressive lady... very impressive," said the man lying on the bed.

"Gee thanks... but before you go admiring me.... let me tell you, fear is a great motivator. So, anyway, I'm off the hook with the conference.... now what?"

"Simple... like I said earlier, we leave."

She looked at him and wondered how in the world he planned to accomplish it when he couldn't remain upright for more than a minute or two.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Making his way through one of the service entrances, he thought they would be able to make a clean break for it... but he was spotted... one of the housekeepers saw his face clearly and ran off.... John turned to his unwilling traveling companion.. "Stay here.. " he said, holding the gun close to her face.... She nodded and then he tied her wrists to a pipe.... "I'll be right back! And don't think of screaming.... "

He turned and did his level best to ignore the weakness as he loped off down the dark lonely corridor.... smiling when he caught up to the man who'd seen him... The guy was so scared, he'd fallen all over himself trying to find someone to tell. He heard his assailant's foot steps and whimpered, knowing what was to come... Turning... he pleaded for his life without words, his body trembling. John aimed the gun at the man's head and cocked the hammer. "Please don't.. I won't say anything."

It shouldn't have mattered.. should have only served to fuel the desire to kill... but it did... this time it did matter. John's hand started to shake... and something inside him was revolted by what he was about to do. Summoning the anger, he issued a clear warning, "You tell anyone what you saw here and you're a dead man... I'll come back for you.... and you'll wish it could be so easy as a bullet to your head...."

The man nodded tightly, "I swear it.. " John held the gun to the man's ear... and clicked the hammer, enjoying the shudder it stimulated in his victim. "I'm glad we understand each other... "

The worker shut his eyes for a second and when he opened them the dark haired man was gone. Shedding his white jacket, the housekeeper got up and ran after him.. pulling his own gun.... 'The fool... he thought I was what I appeared to be... he'll pay for that mistake...'

As John reached the rear door, his eyes meeting those of his captive, a thought struck him... 'That clerk.... there was something about him... the cut of his hair... the shoes he was wearing.... he was no hotel employee.... '

John turned to the sound of a silenced bullet whizzing past.... He ducked and rolled, firing when he was facing the other shooter. Two more shots, rang out. Closer. One splintered the frame of the doorway, sending sharp pieces of wood into his arm. That made him angry and he fired off another couple of rounds at the moving target. In the next second, he heard a buzzing sound and then felt a flash of white hot pain on the left side of his head. And then the lights went out.

It was dark, and the world was spinning all around him, making him extremely nauseated. He couldn't see and he couldn't move, but he could hear noises. It was like that for what seemed like a long time....

And then he heard a scream. He didn't know if it were pure instinct or not, but he clambered to his feet before the pain and dizziness could catch up with him. Lurching, staggering toward the source of the sounds of terror, John knew he had to get there before the screaming stopped. He could only imagine the details of what was happening. Another blood curdling cry made the adrenaline surge and the acid churn in his gut. He forced himself to stand more erectly.. to run toward her. For reasons he couldn't name, John was compelled to save her, as she had already saved him with her medical skills.

She was shivering.... frightened beyond words. The man had such dark menacing eyes..."Ah... he's been holding you, has he.... now it's my turn...ha ha!" He ripped her shirt and started fondling her breasts, as he forced her to kiss him. With her wrists tied to the pipe she was powerless as the man pressed his body against hers, trapping her against the wall. She screamed and then he had a hand over her mouth so she couldn't do it again, though the chances of anyone hearing her above the hum and vibration of the industrial washing machines and dryers, were next to nil. She knew John had chosen an unused entrance. Even while the man was hurting her, Marlena's mind swirled with a dozen questions, almost like some sort of out of body experience... Where was John? Why wasn't he coming back? Had he been shot again?

The absurdity of her situation almost made her laugh. Here she was holding out hope for a heroic rescue by a man who moments earlier was holding her hostage at gunpoint, having been the one to put her in the position of being raped in the first place.

Still the sound of footsteps was a welcome one, as her ability to fight off the attacker was waning.... his hands were unfastening her pants now, beginning to explore her most private places, one hand kneading her rear, the other in front. She gasped at the pain and the sense of violation, as his rough fingers probed her vulnerable tender flesh..

"Oh, you like that... do you?" he said, leering at her before forcing his tongue inside her resistant mouth again, then biting her lip hard, when she didn't respond the way he wanted, causing it to bleed.

It made her cry out again, and then in ostensibly the next instant, the animal assaulting her was lying motionless on the floor, a silenced bullet splattering his brain all over the hallway, miraculously missing Marlena. John tried to hold her, just until the shaking stopped...

In shock from what she'd just witnessed, she stifled another scream as she wriggled out of his grasp. Still trembling, she turned her exposed body away from the gory scene and her attacker's killer, frightened, embarrassed, and humiliated by the horrifying experience.

John surprised her.... pulling out a handkerchief, gently dabbing at the cut on her lip, then untying her wrists as he helped her gather her clothes around her shivering body. "I'm sorry...." he said with tenderness she'd not yet seen or heard from him.

Forcing back the sobs, she labored to speak to him, to tell him it was only an attempt. "I'm alright.... he didn't..... he didn't..."

He nodded, and hugged her once more, lightly this time, releasing her quickly, preserving her dignity. "I know... I'm glad... now let's get out of here... okay?"

She nodded mechanically and allowed him to guide her toward the door, even though he could barely see to navigate for the blood that made a continuous trickle into his left eye and on down his face and neck. Recovering her wits about her, she noticed.. "John.... you were hit again.. there's a lot of blood."

"Yes.... but it only grazed me... I'm okay... it's just a flesh wound... " he said, offering a weak smile. "Heh... always.... wanted to say that.... " No sooner had he uttered those words than she felt his body go limp, beginning to fall. It took every ounce of her strength to keep him from landing on the unyielding tile flooring.

"John.... you have to wake up.... we can't stay here....you said it's too dangerous.... right....so come on... wake up."

It seemed like she was waiting an eternity before his eyelids began to flutter. "John... you passed out.... but you have to find a way to stay awake now.... we have to leave, remember?"

"Yea....too dangerous.... we have to leave..." he parroted back to her. The bullet had hit in the temple area, probably causing at least a mild concussion. He was possibly moving into shock again, and he was fading fast. She had to find out where they were supposed to be going.

"John.... where.... how are we getting out of here?" she asked anxiously.

"Truck.... Black Range Rover.... keys.... keys....." he said, working his brain for answers, struggling to give her details she needed, even as his consciousness flickered.

Realizing she needed to be more directive, Marlena repeated it back and asked a specific question of him, "Yes... where are the keys, John.... tell me."

It was all he could do to answer before his eyes rolled back in his head, "Pocket.... jeans...."

She found them and managed to reach her hand down and retrieve them. When she had them in her hands, her eyes landed immediately on the vehicle in question. It seemed so far away. How on earth am I going to get this semi-conscious man all the way over there? At the moment, whether it was the loss of blood, the dizziness or the combination of the two wounds, he was much like a rag doll, his legs wobbly, unable to fully support his weight.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to draw on every ounce of reserve strength she owned to get this strangely endearing man to the relative safety and security of his truck. Then they could both rest for a moment or two... As she neared it, she looked at her patient and he was suddenly deathly pale... "Come on, John.... don't do this.....you can make it... come on... fight... fight to live, John...."

"Mmm, yea... fight... gotta fight... " he muttered, not fully in touch with reality.

Hearing those words come out of her mouth shocked her. Was it only as a doctor that she was concerned.... or was it about more than that now? The fact of the matter was that he just saved her from being raped, and she wanted to help him in return. She was baffled by her reaction, but had to acknowledge in her heart, that it was more than that. John Stevens intrigued her, and she was beginning to care about him; she wanted to get to know and understand him.....