OC One Shots

Unlikely Savior| Camino Del Rio & Erica

"I don't like the sound of this," Erica responded.

"Be ready, two minutes tops."

"Marty," Erica managed to say before being hung up on.

Marty let out his own sigh. This wasn't how tonight was supposed to go. He should have been seeing Del off to his jet and checking in with his family. He only hoped they managed to make it to their destination without any issues. He glanced at his boss again to see him closing his eyes. That made him tap the brakes abruptly to stir him awake.

"You have to stay awake for a little longer," Marty urged.

Del managed to glare back at him. Oh if only he had the energy to yell at him. Marty knew he'd get an earful if the circumstances were different. He was terrified to have Del's death on his hands for obvious reasons, mostly being his own chances to live. But they'd known each other for ten years and built somewhat of a friendship. Del could absolutely not die tonight. He'd be screwed without him around to shield him from the full affect the cartel could have on him.

Finally Marty saw the familiar faded yellow mailbox and made a sharp turn into the curved driveway. He could see Erica standing by her front door like he asked, arms crossed and scowling. With a renewed sense of urgency, Marty switched off the ignition and threw open the door. He went to the backseat door and yanked it open to began helping Del out.

Seeing what was happening, Erica went into action. "What the hell Marty," she practically yelled as she went to help him. She just assumed he was drunk or had a fight with Wendy again. The last thing she expected was him to bring a bleeding man to her front door. "Who the fuck is this guy?"

Marty and Erica struggled on either side of Del to keep him upright. "It's a long story." Del let out a groan when they stumbled. "Right now we need to focus on keeping him alive."

"Why didn't you just take him to the hospital," Erica asked in a strangled voice. The man was hardly able to walk which made their trek to the door even longer.

"Too far," Marty stated simply. He almost let go of Del when Erica let go a little to open the door. "There would be too many questions," he added once they were inside.

Erica threw a look past the strange man at Marty. "Like in a he wouldn't want to be found way," she asked suspiciously.

Instead of answering that, Marty brought up the next issue. "Where can we take him?"

"That's the thing," Erica said hesitantly, "my guest room is upstairs."

"Of course it is," Marty muttered.

Erica rolled her eyes. "You're the one who decided to bring a dying man here."

Marty chose to not acknowledge that comment as they focused on getting Del to the guest room. Thankfully the steps were designed to be wider and not too steep. At that point Del seemed to be on autopilot, but he was functioning at least. Erica left Marty to get him settled in the bed while she gathered the first aid kit she kept along with everything she could think of for supplies. She was regretting telling Marty about her experience with stitching up wounds. That was thanks to her brother and his penchant for getting himself into trouble.

After a second to gather herself, Erica quickly went back to the guest room. She shoved Marty out of the way to start working. She was thankful that while she had been out of the room, he managed to get the man's coat off. She unbuttoned his shirt, which had now been almost soaked completely with blood. Where he had been shot was a complete mess that startled her briefly. Why did Marty think she'd be the best option for something like this?

"What the hell caused this?"

"Like I said, long story." Marty took the initiative to set out the items he knew would be more important from her first aid kit. "But to put it simply-Darlene Snell."