Part 1

I was in a good mood as I pick up my bags and headed upstairs. I had just finished a big network migration project in Dallas a day early and had been able to return home earlier than planned. I was thinking about what I was going to do with Nicky that night as I turned on the landing before taking the last five steps. When I turned I saw a man standing at the top of the stairs. What really captured my attention was the gun he was holding in his hand. I stared at the gun for a moment and then saw the flash. It seemed that I was instantly propelled backwards down the stairs. Then blackness.

I don't know where my mind had been but I suddenly found myself in bed in a room I didn't recognize. It took me only a moment to realize that I wasn't in my own bed but I didn't know where I was. The room was mostly dark but I could hear someone whispering nearby. I tired to move without success. I was only able to turn my head a few inches. My mind was beginning to drift and I couldn't seem to focus on anything until I recognized Nicky's voice. She was standing near the door talking to a man I couldn't identify because he was facing away from me. They hadn't noticed that I was awake so I listened carefully to see if I could hear what they were saying.

"What did the doctor tell you?" the man asked.

"He said Eric is doing better but he is not out of danger yet," Nicky said.

Doctor? Was Nicky talking about me? What did she mean by not out of danger? I tried to make sense of what I had just heard but I just couldn't focus on anything.

Nicky seemed to be holding onto the man's arm while at the same time pushing him toward the door. "John, you really shouldn't be here," she told him.

"Does he remember what happened?"

"I don't know. Detective Trenca tried to question him about it yesterday but Eric was too doped up from the painkillers to give any answers," Nicky said.

"As soon as he is able to talk to the police I want to know what he tells them."

"John, please leave before he wakes up and sees you. Beside, Detective Trenca could come back at any time."

"Okay, I'm going, but just remember what I said."

"I will. Now please leave. I just can't deal with you right now." Nicky said.

I was trying to understand what Nicky and that man were talking about. She called him John but that didn't mean anything to me. Nicky started to look over toward me so I closed my eyes. When I opened them again the man was gone and Nicky was sitting in a chair in front of a dark window. Suddenly I wasn't sure if the man had really been there or if I had dreamed it. I was about to ask Nicky where I was and who that man was but I just couldn't seem to keep my eyes opened. I decided to rest my eyes for a minute and then I would ask Nicky to tell me where I was.

When I opened my eyes again it was morning and I was staring up at the white tile ceiling. The room was quiet but I sensed that there were other people in the room. I turned my head to the right as far as I could but that wasn't very far. Maybe only three or four inches but that was enough to allow me to see Nicky sitting by the window. The sunlight coming through the window behind her was making it difficult for me to see her pretty face clearly but I could see that her eyes looked puffy like she had been crying and she was holding a tissue in her hand. As I watched, Nicky turned away from me and looked out the window. Apparently she had not noticed that my eyes were opened.

I turned my head to the left with no more success than I had to the right but I was able to see that pain in the ass that kept asking me questions I could not answer. I didn't know if the questioning was a memory or a dream. He was about five feet seven inches tall and maybe 165 pounds. He had curly brown hair that almost matched the color of the suit he was wearing. That suit... It looked as if he had been wearing it everyday for the last five years. The elbows were worn thin and the pockets were all tattered and the wide blue tie he was wearing was not only out of style but didn't go well with that suit.

It puzzled me that I recognized him as soon as I looked over at him but I didn't know who he was. I had a vague memory of him asking me questions but for the life of me I couldn't remember what the questions were or why he was asking them. The name that popped into my head when I saw him was Curly but I wasn't sure if that was his name or did I call him that because of his hair.

Anyway, Curly was leaning against the wall reading the newspaper. When he started to lower the paper and peek over the top I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. I didn't feel like answering questions right then.

While faking that I was asleep I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes again the room was empty. Nicky and Curly were gone and it was dark outside. I must have fallen asleep again. I was upset with myself for sleeping so long. I had wanted to talk to Nicky. I remembered that I wanted to ask her about something but I couldn't remember what.

I lay still and listened as I tried to make sense of things. Clarity came to me a little bit at a time. I was obviously in the hospital but how long had I been there and why was not clear to me. I remembered seeing Nicky sitting by the window two or three times and I also remembered Curly asking me questions at least one time and seeing him leaning against the wall more than once. I could not distinguish whether this had all happened in one day or over several days. It really bothered me that I had no concept of how long I had been in the hospital or why I was there.

The room was quiet, which helped me to concentrate. I tried to think back to the last clear memory I had. I lay still and let my mind drift back and suddenly I remembered something. I remembered coming home from a project in Dallas and had walked into the house carrying my bags. I think I set my bags down in the front hall and... What did I do? I couldn't remember. Did I go into the kitchen? Did I use the bathroom? "That must have been it," I thought. "I had been in a hurry to get home so I probably was in desparate need of a toilet."

I wasn't sure if that was right but it made sense. Anyway, I remember picking up my bags again and starting up the stairs. When I turned right at the landing to go up the second flight I saw someone standing at the top of the stairs. Now I remembered. He was a big guy with dark brown hair but I didn't get a look at his face because my eyes were focused elsewhere. I was staring at the gun he was pointing at me.

I stared for what seemed to be a long time but in reality was only a few seconds and then I saw a flash. I was already falling backwards down the stairs as I heard the loud explosion produced by the gun as it was fired.

After that I could only remember bits and pieces. I vaguely remembered waking up in the hospital with Nicky holding my hand and crying but again, that could have been a dream. I just wasn't sure of anything.

The next time I saw Nicky she didn't look good. She was very pale and her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. She came over to the bed and took my hand then kissed me on the forehead.

"Nicky, are you all right," I asked. "You don't look well." I was surprised at the sound of my voice. It was raspy and weak.

"I haven't been able to sleep," she said. "I was so scared that I might lose you. The doctor just told me that you are out of danger and should make a full recovery"

"How long have I been here?" I asked.

"Since Friday."

"I know since Friday, but what day is today?"

" Tuesday," Nicky said.

"I've lost three days," I said.

"How are you feeling today?" Nicky asked.

"I don't know. I don't feel much of anything right now. My head is clear and I hope it stays this way now. Up until now I've been in a fog," I said. "What happened to me?"

"You don't remember?" Nicky asked.

"Only a little bit of it," I said.

Nicky started to say something but was cut off by man's voice.

"Why don't you let me bring Mr. Anderson up to date?" The voice said.

The source of the voice turned out to be Curly. He had come into the room just as I asked Nicky what had happened and had moved over to stand next to her. It looked to me like Curly was still wearing the same brown suit.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"You don't remember?" he asked.

"I remember you asking me questions but I don't remember your name or what you asked me about," I said.

"I'm Detective Tony Trenca. I have been assigned to this case." He said.

"Just what exactly is this case?" I asked.

"This is what we know so far," Detective Trenca said. "You came home from Dallas Friday some time around noon. When you entered your house you apparently walked into a burglary in progress. We don't know yet how many people were involved but you were carrying your luggage up the stairs when, you were shot by someone that was standing at the top of the stairs. You were shot a total of three times in the chest and abdomen.

"Mrs. Anderson came into the house at approximately 12:25 and found you laying at the bottom of the stairs. She called 911 as soon as she found you. Apparently the burglar or burglars left right after you were shot. They were probably afraid that someone might have heard the shots. As it turns out you were very lucky on two counts. First, the perpetrator used a thirty-two-caliber pistol, which is one of the reasons you are still alive. A thirty-two doesn't do as much damage as say a thirty-eight or a nine-millimeter. The second bit of luck was that your wife came home for lunch. If she hadn't found you when she did and called for help you would have bled to death within minutes."

I squeezed Nicky's hand and smiled at her. What do you say to your wife when you find out she saved your life? A simple thanks doesn't seem adequate. I looked back at the detective.

"Do you have any idea who might have done this?" I asked.

"There have been several burglaries recently in the Sherman Oaks area. They have been breaking into homes during the day when the owners are at work," he said. "This is the first time there has been any violence. We are hoping that in the panic after the shooting they may have made a mistake and left us some evidence that will help us catch them. I believe that you were shot because you saw at least one of them and they thought you were dead or they most likely would have made sure of it.

"I'd like to ask you again what you remember about what happened Friday," Detective Trenca said.

I told Detective Trenca that all I remembered was that I was carrying my bags upstairs and when I turned at the landing I saw someone at the top of the stairs. I told him that the guy was big and had dark brown hair but I didn't see his face because I was looking at the gun. I told him that I didn't remember anything after the first shot was fired.

"You probably did see his face," Detective Trenca said, "but seeing the gun shocked you so that is all you remember right now but in time I believe you will remember what he looks like and hopefully you'll be able to describe him to us."

"I hope so," I said.

"I'll leave you two alone now," Detective Trenca said. "I'll stop and see you tomorrow to see if you remember anything else."

I looked at Nicky and said, "Thanks for saving my life, kid."

Nicky started crying and bent down and kissed me all over my face.

"Eric, I don't know what I would have done if I lost you," Nicky said.

Just then a horrible thought struck me. It turned my stomach into a knot and I got a lump in my throat that I could not swallow.

Nicky saw the tears running from my eyes and asked, "What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

"Yes, but it's not physical," I said. "It just occurred to me that if I hadn't come home when I did, it would have been you that walked into the house and you might have been killed. I don't feel so bad about getting shot now. I may have saved your life without even knowing it."

Nicky hugged me and I think we both cried for a few minutes. After that I started to feel some discomfort from my wounds. Nicky called the nurse and she came in and gave me something for the pain. I slept for a few hours and when I woke up Nicky was sitting by the window reading.

As soon as she noticed that I was awake she came over to my bedside and kissed me.

"How do you feel?" she asked. "Do you need anything for the pain?"

"No. I'm okay right now," I said. "Just before I feel asleep I had wanted to ask you what was taken?"

"What do you mean, what was taken?"

"What did the bastards take from our house?" I asked. "What did we lose?"

"I don't know," Nicky said. "They left a mess in the family room but I don't know what was broken or damaged and I didn't really look to see what was missing yet."

"Why haven you checked to see what was stolen?" I asked. I wasn't angry, just curious.

"I haven't been back to the house since it happened. The cops have been all over the house investigating and I just couldn't be there. Walking in and seeing your blood on the floor at the bottom of the stairs... I just couldn't stay there. I've been staying with my parents since this happened."

"Of course. I'm sorry. I just didn't think," I said. "I can understand that you wouldn't want to be there now. I guess we'll have to hire someone to come in and clean up the mess."

"We can't do anything until the police release the house to us. They say it is a crime scene and we will have to wait until they finish their investigation before we can have the house cleaned. There's no hurry, we can stay at my parents until we can get the house cleaned."

The rest of the time that Nicky was there we talked about everything except what had happened on Friday.

That night after Nicky left I thought about how close I had come to losing everything and how close I had come to losing Nicky. It could just as easily have been her that got shot.

I tried again to recall anything of importance about the shooting and did remember something else that I thought might be important. I wasn't sure if my memory was accurate but every time I tried to picture the shooter it was the same. I hoped that Detective Trenca would stop by the next day so I could tell him about it.

A few minutes later the nurse came in and injected something into my IV and I was asleep within minutes.

I woke up in the morning feeling much better. I was still unable to move around in the bed and I wondered why. Were my injuries more serious than I had been led to believe?

At eight o'clock Nicky came into the room. She kissed me and said, "I love you, Eric."

"I love you, too."

"Eric, I can't stay with you today," Nicky said. "School opens in two weeks and I have to attend meetings and get my classroom ready. I'll stay until the doctor visits and then I will have to leave. I'll be back around four o'clock."

"That's okay, honey," I said. "I'll be fine. I might take a nap while your gone."

Nicky laughed. "Take a nap?" she asked. "You mean your between nap, nap."

"Yeah, all this napping makes me tired," I said.

I started to laugh but it made my chest hurt and when Nicky saw the pained looked on my face she started to cry.

"It's okay, Nicky. It just hurts when I laugh so don't be funny," I said.

Nicky tried to smile but the tears kept rolling down her cheeks. She had just pulled a tissue from her purse when the doctor came in.

"How are you feeling today, Mr. Anderson?" The doctor asked.

"I don't know," I said. "I guess I'm okay under the circumstances. I'm sorry, I am sure you introduced yourself to me before but I don't remember your name."

"No need to be sorry," he said. "It's understandable. I'm Dr. Berger."

"Dr. Berger, can you tell me why I can't seem to move my arms or legs and I can only turn my head a little in each direction?" I asked.

"We had to immobilize you to keep you from re-injuring yourself after your surgery," he responded.

"How bad are my injuries?"

"Serious but you are out of danger now. You were extremely lucky," Dr. Berger said.

"I know, Detective Trenca already told me that. If it had been a larger caliber gun I would probably be dead now," I said. I regretted it immediately because I saw Nicky's face turn completely white.

" That's true but you are even more lucky because of where the bullets struck you. One bullet penetrated the right side of your chest missing your ribs but it did go through your lung and exited through your back. The other two shots hit you in the lower abdomen but managed to miss your vital organs. Those two bullets also exited through your back. The two shots through the abdomen were the greatest concern. Luckily the bullets missed your liver and your kidneys. In fact they did very little damage."

"How long will Eric have to stay in the hospital?" Nicky asked.

"I am hoping to have him out of bed this afternoon and if he continues to do as well as he has so far, we will probably send him home on Monday but Eric will need to take it easy for a few more weeks. I wouldn't recommend trying to go back to work for at least three weeks," Dr. Berger said.

When the doctor left Nicky said that she couldn't wait to get me back home.

"I'll get a nurse to take care of you during the day and I will be your nurse at night," she said.

Nicky seemed more upbeat after listening to the doctor. She kissed me and said she would be back around four o'clock and then she left.

I tried to sleep after Nicky left but found myself too restless. Later a nurse came in and released the bindings that were holding my arms and legs and then removed the foam pad that had held my head in place. It felt great to be able to move my arms and legs and to be able to turn my head to look out the window.

I was watching some pigeons on the window ledge when Detective Trenca arrived.

"Feeling any better today, Mr. Anderson?"

"I guess I am. It's hard to compare how I feel now to how I felt when I was in a constant fog. I think this is better."

"I just wanted to stop by and see if you remembered anything new that might be of assistance," he said.

"Something came to me last night but I am not sure if it is a real memory or not," I said.

"Let's hear it."

"Last night I kept reviewing the shooting in my head to see if anything new would come to me. I remembered it the same way every time except that I noticed something that I might have seen but just didn't register in my mind. I still can't recall seeing the shooters face but I think that when I was looking at the gun it was in his left hand. He was wearing a ring but it didn't appear to be a wedding band. It was on his middle finger and it was black, maybe onyx. Does that help?"

"Yes, it does," Detective Trenca said. "Knowing that our shooter is probably left-handed and wears an onyx ring is a big help. It's not as good as a description of his face but it does help. Anything else?"

"No. That's still all I can remember."

We were both quiet for a moment and then I noticed that Detective Trenca was still wearing that brown suit and I almost started to laugh. He noticed the way I was looking at him and he looked down at his clothes.

"I see you have noticed my new suit," he said as he smiled at me. "I don't usually look this dapper."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare."

"It's okay," he said. "We had a fire at the house and I lost all of my clothes."

"Sorry to hear that," I said. "Was there much damage to your house?"

"No damage to the house, the only things burned were my clothes," he said. "Somehow all of my clothes happened to be piled in the driveway when they accidentally got soaked with gasoline. Then somebody dropped a match or a cigarette near the pile. Whoosh! Nothing left but a couple of crispy pairs of socks. I guess my wife was really pissed at me that night."

He laughed a little and said, "I think we will get things worked out but in the mean time I am living in my car and I had to buy this suit at the Salvation Army store. Right now it's the only thing I have to wear."

I felt sorry for him. Detective Trenca seemed like a nice guy and I hated to think that he was having problems in his marriage. What could he have done that pissed his wife off so much that she would torch his clothes. I guess that in the back of my mind I knew. I wondered how things in a marriage could go that far wrong before they would take steps to fix the problems.

Detective Trenca stayed with me for more than an hour but we just talked. I sensed that there was something that he wanted to tell me but for some reason he was holding back. I finally had to ask.

"I think there is something you aren't telling me but I think you want to. What is it?" I asked.

"Remember when I told you that the shooter thought you were dead or he would have made sure you were?" Detective Trenca asked.

"Yeah, I remember." I said and waited for him to finish.

"The shooter knew you weren't dead but he was sure that you would die. He wanted you dead but he wanted it to be slow. That's why the last two shots where in your abdomen instead of your head," Detective Trenca said.

"Why?" I asked. "Why would he do that? Just because he thought I saw him?"

"I don't know but I plan to find out."

After that Detective Trenca asked me questions about my job and the people I worked with. It didn't occur to me until after he left that he might suspect that the shooter was someone I knew.

Over the next few days I got stronger and the nurses had me out of bed and walking the halls. Nicky came to see me each morning and then came back again after work and had dinner with me. She stayed each night until visiting hours were over. A couple of times, when I was feeling lonely at night, I called Nicky at her parents' house and we talked for more then a half hour each time.

Looking at Nicky each day was beginning to worry me. I could feel myself getting stronger each day but Nicky didn't seem to be doing as well. Her color was ashen and her eyes always seemed to be puffy and red. She looked to me as if she had lost weight and wasn't sleeping well. She had been through a hard time. Finding me lying on the floor with blood running out of me and then not knowing if I was going to live or die for more than three days had taken its toll on her. I was sure that once I got out of the hospital and we were back at home she would start to feel better.

When I was alone at night and couldn't sleep all I could think about was Nicky. I thought about how we had met during our senior year at college. We were introduced at a frat party but under less than ideal conditions. She had come to the party as the date of one of my fraternity brothers but he got so drunk he could hardly stand up and had to ask me to give her a ride home.

At the time Nicky didn't seem impressed by me or by my fraternity brothers. She didn't speak to me until I dropped her off and then she only thanked me for the ride. I, on the other hand, was very impressed with Nicole Saunders. She was tall and slim with a very nice body. She had light brown hair and big, very expressive, brown eyes. Her nose was perfect for her face and she had a large mouth that was capable of generating thousand watt smiles. Unfortunately, she didn't give me a smile on the ride to her sorority house that night. I had seen her smile when she arrived at the party and I was immediately jealous of her date.

I didn't see her again for two weeks. It was at another party that I ran into her. This time she did smile at me.

"Eric Anderson, right?" she asked.

"Yes, and you are Nicole Saunders."

"You remembered. I am impressed. I thought that after I was so rude to you when you gave me a ride home that you would have quickly forgotten all about me," she said.

I thought for a moment about all the great pick up lines I could have used at that moment but instead opted for sincerity. I said, "I was impressed by how unimpressed you were with me, which caused me to remember your name."

"I wasn't unimpressed," she said. "I was just so mad at Bob. He invites me to a party and then proceeds to get so drunk that he can't even take me home. I am afraid that I let my anger affect my attitude toward you. I do appreciate that you were sober and that you gave me a ride without complaining about having to leave the party."

I couldn't resist this opportunity. "How could I complain about getting the chance to spend time alone with a beautiful girl like you."

Nicky laughed and said, "Thanks, I guess."

"Have you forgiven Bob yet?" I asked.

"Nope, and I am not going to," she said. "I had just met him the week before and that was our first and only date. He blew it. I was definitely unimpressed with him."

"Good, then how about going out with me?" I asked. "I promise I'll stay sober long enough to get you home."

"I'd like that," Nicky said.

We went out on our first date the next night and were dating exclusively by the end of the next week.

I also thought about the first time we had sex. It was on our fourth date. We had gone out for pizza and then went to a movie. After the movie we drove back to Nicky's sorority house and I parked across the street. I kissed her and began to nibble on her ear.

"I think I am falling in love," I whispered to her.

Nicky turned her head and kissed me and said, "Me too."

While kissing her, I started to unbutton Nicky's blouse and when I put my hand inside she didn't resist me at all. I felt my hand touch her bare breast for the first time and my cock almost tore the zipper out of my pants.

I bent down to suck her nipple into my mouth and slipped my hand under the hem of her skirt at the same time. Nicky didn't stop me so I began to move my hand up her thigh. At the time she had her legs crossed but as I moved my hand higher up her leg she uncrossed them and allowed me to reach all the way up to the top of her legs. I pressed my fingertips against her panty-covered sex and teased her pussy. Nicky responded to this by biting me on the ear and saying, "That feels so good."

I was so hot I was ready to taste Nicky's pussy right there in the car. When I tried to get my hand inside her panties Nicky grabbed my wrist. The problem was that my car was not only too small, it was parked in the only available parking space on the block and that was directly under a street lamp. There was a lot of activity on the street, which meant that anything we did in my car could be seen by anyone passing.

"Not here. Let's go to my room," Nicky said. "Follow me."

Nicky buttoned her blouse and then got out of the car. I got out and Nicky took my hand and led me across the street toward the sorority house. Instead of going in the front door she led me around to the back of the house and we went in through the back door and up the back staircase to her room.

Once inside Nicky's bedroom I pulled her to me and started kissing her again. Nicky kissed me and then started to open my pants and push them down my legs. While she worked on my pants I removed my shirt. When she had my pants off, Nicky removed my jockey shorts and while we stood there kissing, Nicky reached down and began to stroke my cock.

I was so aroused that I had to stop her before she made me climax. Then I unbuttoned her blouse and pushed it off her shoulders and let if fall to the floor. Nicky unzipped and then stepped out of her skirt and put it on a chair. Then I watched as Nicky unhooked her bra and removed it exposing her firm grapefruit sized breasts to me. I put one hand on each breast and gently massaged them. I began to kiss and lick her nipples alternating back and forth between her right and left breast and I could tell that Nicky was enjoying the sensations I was giving her. I loved how hard her nipples got as I played them with my tongue and lips.

After awhile I turned Nicky around and made her sit on the edge of the bed. Then I slid my hand up the inside of Nicky's leg until I reached the crotch of her panties and I slipped my finger under the satin material. When I slipped my fingertips into her slit and began to slide it up and down in her sexual juices Nicky let out a soft moan.

I was standing naked in front of Nicky with the biggest hard on I think I had ever had and the head of my cock was already shinny with pre cum and more was dripping out of me. Nicky took my cock in her hand and held it in front of her face and seemed to be examining it.

"Do you want me to kiss it?" she asked.

"Yes, please," I answered.

Nicky leaned forward and kissed my stiff member. She ran my tongue all over the head of my cock and as she did this she pulled on my cock milking as much of my pre cum from me as she could. Nicky seemed to actually like the taste of the clear liquid. After a few minutes of this Nicky pulled my head down to kiss me. I could see that her lips were slick with my juices but I kissed her anyway.

I got down on the floor in front of Nicky and while I was staring at her mound I said, "Now I am going to return the favor."