Rico pulled into Daniel's driveway after running down his mailbox. He turned off the car as everyone got out. Deandre and Lauren helped Daniel out of the car and were his support until they got back in the house. They made their way to the kitchen to lay him on the table. Lauren then ripped off his shirt to reveal blood pouring out of the little hole in his shoulder.

"Fuck! What do we do?!" asked Deandre.

“There...there's a first aid kit in hall closet. Get it for me," said Daniel trying hard to ignore the pain. “It’s a little white box.” Deandre nodded and took off down the hallway. Daniel fumbled with his belt buckle. “I need someone to help me take off my belt."

Lauren unbuckled his belt and pulled it out of his pants. Daniel grabbed it and folded it before placing it between his teeth. Deandre soon returned with the first aid kit. Daniel grabbed it from him and opened it. He pulled out a container of alcohol and small forceps. He poured the alcohol on them before giving them back to Deandre.

"Pull the bullet out," said Daniel, his teeth still clenched on the belt.

"Say what?" asked Deandre.

"Deandre, just pull the damn thing out," pleaded Lauren.

"Why do I have to be the one to do it?"

"For fuck's sake!" yelled Rico before grabbing the forceps from him. "Hold him down."

Rico pushed the forceps into the wound. Daniel screamed and clenched his fists. Rico moved the tongs around until he felt the bullet.

"I think I got it," said Rico. He twisted the pincers and pinched the bullet. Daniel screamed and the belt fell from his mouth. He let out an even louder scream causing the veins in his neck to protrude under his skin. He arched his back to break free.

"Hold him down!" yelled Rico.

Lauren and Ava placed their hands-on Daniel's stomach to hold him still. Ava watched as Daniel reached out to grab Lauren's hand. He clutched it tightly. Lauren took her other hand from his stomach and placed it over top of his. Both of her hands held his clenched fist while Rico continued to retrieve the bullet. Ava stared at Lauren, taking note of the worried look on her face.

"Got it!" shouted Rico. He pulled the bullet out in one piece. Daniel's body relaxed a little. He let go of Lauren's hand and sat up. He stumbled while trying to get off the table. Lauren caught him. Daniel did his best to smile in gratitude before staggering over to the stove. He turned a knob and, after a few clicks, a blue flame from the front right burner sparked to life. Daniel grabbed a knife from a nearby drawer and held it in the fire until it grew red hot. He then placed the searing blade to his shoulder to cauterize the wound. The wet blood sizzled and boiled from the heat. Daniel grit his teeth and stifled a deep grunt from the pain. He eventually dropped the knife. It fell with a sharp ‘PING’ to the floor. Drained from the ordeal, Daniel leaned against the kitchen counter and tried to find his balance.

“Lauren? Can you help me?” he asked in a weak tone.

“Yes,” she replied rushing to his side. “What do I have to do?”

Daniel pointed a weary finger to the dining table and motioned to some gauze and first-aid tape. “Can you grab some of that for me?”

Frantic, Lauren ran back to the table and grabbed what he requested. The rest of the group watched silently as she hurried back to Daniel’s side.

“Take some of that tape and help me hold this down.” Daniel placed a piece of gauze against his shoulder. “I don’t want it to move.” He held the gauze still while Lauren did her best to secure it to his skin with the tape. Her nervous hands failed to perform the job to the standards she expected, but it was satisfactory considering she had never done it before. Daniel placed a gentle hand over hers and whispered a soft “Thank you” as she pressed down the final corner of tape to the gauze. She gave him a small nod in response and stepped back to give him some room.

"You okay, partner?" asked Jett, stepping closer to them.

“Yeah, man, that was pretty intense,” said Deandre.

“We thought you were going to die,” choked Scotty. Kitsie came up behind him and placed a consoling hand on his shoulder.

"I’m not going to die.” Daniel leaned away from the counter and faltered a bit. "But, I'm a little tired. I think I'm gonna go lay down for a little while."

Daniel stumbled out of the room and down the hallway. The sound of his bedroom door closing alerting The Misfits that he’d made it to his bed. They quietly exchanged looks as Rico held the bullet in his hand.

"This will make a nice souvenir," he said while rolling the bullet between his fingers.

Lauren smacked Rico’s hand and sent the bullet flying across the kitchen. “Are you fucking serious?! He could have died, and you want to keep a reminder?!”

“Hey! I got shot too, remember?” Rico pointed to his missing earlobe. “I don’t see you freaking out about me.”

“That’s because this whole thing is your fault!”

“How is this my fault?!”

“It was your idea!”

Rico let out an angry breath. “I didn’t tell him to jump in front of that bullet,” he said, leaning closer to her. “He did that because you. So, it’s your fault.”

Lauren straightened her posture and swallowed a hard lump forming in her throat. “You’re such an asshole,” she murmured before walking to the sink wash Daniel's blood from her hands. Her chest grew tight as she watched the bloody water run down the drain. A strange pounding resonated throughout her entire body and echoed in her ears. Her face grew hot. Her vision blurred from the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Lauren? Are you okay?" asked Ava.

A stray tear fell down Lauren’s cheek. She wiped the tear away with the back of her arm and proceeded to dry her hands on a dish towel. "I'm fine. Why?" she said regaining her composure.

"N-Never mind," said Ava. She turned around and began to help clean up the kitchen.

Lauren looked down the hallway at Daniel's bedroom. She swallowed hard and close her eyes again. "I'm not fine," she thought over the incessant pounding still housed within her chest. "I’m not fine at all.”