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Robert "Robbie" Scott hated October 31, the night of ghosts and ghouls and vampires - all kinds of horrors.
It hadn't always been like that. When they had been wee lads, he and his big brother had often gone trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Robbie had loved to get lots of candy and other snacks, but it all had changed one fateful night.
He had been a young adult, studying at the university, and had visited a Halloween party. Everything had been perfect and fun until some of the other students had decided to play a prank on him.
By causing a power outage they had lured Robbie into the small basement where they had locked him up.
Maybe they hadn't known about his claustrophobia. But they hadn't cared about it either. They had simply laughed and continued their party, ignoring his screams and pleads to let him out.
When they had opened the door on the next morning, Robbie had sat in a corner of the room, trembling, exhausted, still sobbing.
And from that night on, Robbie had sworn to himself that he would never go out again on Halloween. He'd stay at his safe, cozy home.
And he wouldn't open the door either.
The Scotsman groaned when the doorbell rang yet again. Well... he was in America. What else had he expected on this night? It was a big festivity in this country, after all.
Robbie kept on staring at the screen of his PADD. He had turned out all the lights in the house and had closed all the curtains. No one would know that he was home.
Casually, the Scotsman opened an app on his PADD, connected to the camera at the door, and saw some kids leaving.
He sighed.
Was it fair on them? Didn't they deserve to get their treats? Just because he hated the day, didn't mean he'd have to make it miserable for these wee lads and lasses too.
Robbie shook his head. They'd gather enough candy. There were enough people around in the neighborhood, after all.
He was about to close the app when something caught his attention.
There was... a wee dog. It was running around restlessly, apparently searching for something or someone.
However, that wasn't the thing concerning Robbie the most. No... it was the fact that there was a lot of red on the dog's fur. Some sort of costume maybe? But... what if the poor animal was injured?
Robbie got to his feet and walked over to the door. He opened it slowly, careful not to scare the dog away, and was greeted by a bark.
"Hey there, laddie. What's wrong? Ye hurt?"
The Scotsman knelt down and reached out his hand. The dog sniffed at it, then spun around excitedly. It didn't look injured or in pain. However, it barked once more.
"What- ye wanna show me something?"
As if to answer the dog ran off, then waited for Robbie who got to his feet.
"Alright, alright. I'm coming."
He quickly grabbed a jacket and his keys, then headed after the dog.
Something told him that the dog wanted to show him something important.
They ran through the streets. From time to time Robbie saw people of all ages in their costumes, but he was only focused on following the dog.
It led him into a wee alleyway and what Robbie found there made his blood freeze.
There was a man. He was lying on the cold ground, unconscious. There was blood pooling beneath him.
The Scotsman hurried over and fell onto his knees next to the poor lad. Judging by the stuff lying all around, the man was homeless.
"Sir, are ye okay? Can ye hear me?"
Robbie didn't get an answer. His eyes fell onto the man's stomach. There was a big gash, probably a stab wound. Blood was still running out of it.
The Scotsman swore, while he got out his communicator. He had to call for help!
While doing so, he checked the injured man's pulse. It was weak, but it was there.
It seemed to take forever until a voice answered the call.
"911, what's your emergency?"
Robbie was still sitting next to the homeless man, the whimpering dog lying close by, when the ambulance arrived.
Medics ran over to them, asked several questions and the Scotsman did his best to answer all of them.
He told them what had happened, told them how he had found the man. They took him away on a stretcher, leaving Robbie behind with the dog, saying that the police would ask more questions.
They were right.
When they were done interrogating Robbie, the police wanted to take the dog with them to a shelter, however the wee thing just growled at them. It wanted to stay with Robbie for the time being. And he said that he'd take care of it until everything was taken care of.
He could only hope that the owner of the dog would survive.
After Robbie had brought the dog to his home and had washed it and given it some water, he drove to the hospital. He needed to check on the man, needed to know that he was okay.
Even though the police had said that they'd call him, Robbie wanted to be present. He didn't like to just sit and wait at home.
He entered the huge building and walked straight into the waiting area. A heavy sigh escaped him as he sat down in a chair.
Gosh, he just hated this night!
It was bad and full of horrors and-
"Mr. Scott?"
He looked up as he heard a somehow familar voice. And he couldn't believe who he saw in front of him.
"Ms. McCoy?"
His eyes widened. It really was the bonnie lass he had met some months ago during a bank robbery.
Even in her work clothing she looked gorgeous as ever.
Robbie quickly got to his feet and blushed.
"G-good evening," he greeted his counterpart who looked at him, almost concerned.
"What are you doing here? Are you hurt? Or one of your relatives?"
Robbie quickly shook his head.
"Nae, I... it's a long story."
A soft smile spread across the woman's face and she shrugged.
"Good thing I'm on my break, huh? I'll get us some coffee and we can talk."
Robbie didn't even get the chance to reply anything for Ms. McCoy was already heading off to get the coffee.
He sat back down, a weak smile forming on his face.
Maybe this night wasn't as bad as he had thought it to be.
"Wow, what a rough night. I really hope that the man's going to be okay."
Robbie had told the nurse everything that had happened. How the dog had led him to its owner. How badly injured the homeless man had looked.
"Aye... I hope so too."
His soft smile faded as he thought about it all.
"I just cannae believe that no one else saw how panicked the dog was. The man could have gotten help faster..."
It was unbelievable. So many people were outside, but no one had noticed that something was wrong. Everyone just cared for their own selfish interests.
"Well... it's just that time of the year. So many people get hurt or robbed or other horrible stuff and witnesses think that it's just a part of Halloween. Trust me. I know it. I always work on this night."
Robbie laughed up humorlessly.
"Just another reason to hate it."
The woman next to him shrugged, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Well, we can only do our best to make it better. And... you certainly did your part tonight."
Robbie nodded slowly.
"Aye. Maybe."
Thank goodness he had opened the door for that dog and had gotten outside.
"Well then... I have to get back to work. It was nice having a chat with you, Mr. Scott."
Slowly, Ms. McCoy got to her feet.
"Robbie. It's... it's Robbie."
Almost instantly the Scotsman blushed. Gosh, why had he said that?
The nurse just smiled at him.
"Alright, Robbie. Feel free to call me Leah then."
He nodded, just staring at the woman in awe. Why was she so... damn perfect?
"See ya around."
With that Leah got back to her work, leaving Robbie to wait for news.
It was very early in the morning when a police man stepped up to the Scotsman.
"You're the guy who found the injured homeless man, aren't you?"
He quickly nodded and got to his feet. His eyes were wide.
"Is he-"
The man nodded, a smile on his face.
"He's fine. The doctors say he was brought here right in time."
Robbie let out a relieved sigh, running a hand through his hair. Thank goodness the dog had reached out for help.
"That's... that's good. Did he... did he tell what happened?"
The officer's face darkened as he nodded.
"A group of young men threatened him. They thought of it as a prank obviously. But the man's dog tried to protect him and when they tried to kick it away, he stepped in and was injured. My team is already looking for these guys. But... he wants to see his savior."
A prank? Robbie tried his best not to clench his hands to fists. These stupid people!
"If you want to come along?"
The police man's voice called Robbie back to reality and he nodded.
"O-of course."
It was good to see the man - Howard Blaten - okay. He was still pale, but awake.
He smiled softly when he saw Robbie.
"You... you saved me?"
A crooked smile formed on the Scotsman's lips.
"Well... actually it was yer dog, Mr. Blaten. He searched for help and when I saw him at my doorstep... I followed."
A soft chuckle escaped Mr. Blaten's mouth and tears filled his eyes.
"Oh, Hunter. He's such a good boy. Where... where is he?"
"I took him home with me. The police wanted to take him to a shelter, but... he wanted to stay with me," Robbie explained and his counterpart nodded in understanding.
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
Robbie just nodded.
"I'm glad that ye are alright, sir. And I'm so sorry for what happened to ye."
He too had been victim of a 'prank' after all. He knew what it felt like. Even though his injuries hadn't been as severe.
Mr. Blaten sighed heavily.
"They'll get what they deserve. I'm sure."
They fell silent for a moment until Robbie spoke up again.
"If... if there's anything I can do for ye... just tell me, will ye?"
He wanted to help this man in every way he could. For no one, except for his brother and mother, had helped him back then.
When he left the room to get back home to the dog - Hunter - he bumped into a familiar person.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!"
Someone chuckled.
"Hey, is this going to become a habit? You bumping into me?"
Robbie's eyes widened.
"Leah."
That was just his luck. He ran into her yet again.
The nurse grinned.
"Well, I wouldn't mind it if we met more often."
Robbie felt the blood rush to his cheeks and he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Oh, uhm, a-aye."
Leah's eyes fell on the room that Robbie had left.
"How's he doing?"
A smile spread across the Scotsman's face as he nodded.
"Good, good. He... he'll be fine."
The grin on Leah's face only widened.
"Thanks to a hero called Robert Scott."
A weak chuckle left Robbie's mouth and he blushed even harder. What was it with this nurse?
"Well... this hero has to go take care of a dog now. Who is the real hero by the way."
Leah laughed out, then reached over and put something into the pocket of her counterpart's jacket.
"Alright. Get some sleep. And maybe in the afternoon you call me?"
Robbie let his hand slid into his pocket and felt a piece of paper. His eyes widened and he nodded slowly.
"A-aye. Will do."
Leah winked at him, then slowly strolled off. And Robbie just smiled dreamily.
They would meet again. For sure.