Rob coughed, emitting a thin spray of spit and blood. "Yeah, you like that, don't you?" One of the men standing over him laughed raucously. "You shouldn't have MESSED--" A boot kicked out and caught him in the gut. "--with us. Should've let things be." Rob rolled over, trying to breathe through the bittersweet red that streamed slowly across his face. He blinked through the dark, and saw... nothing. An empty alleyway. He slowly pulled himself to his feet, and, leaning heavily against the wall, staggered over into Tommy's Pub. The waitress standing just inside the door looked strangely familiar as she watched in mild shock as he tumbled through the door. "Oh my god, are you ok?" She helped him over to an empty table. He managed to mumble, "Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. Can I just have some napkins and ice?" "Yeah, of course!" She hurries over to the bar, talks to the barkeep, and comes back with a stack of napkins and a glass full of ice. "Thanks." She moves back to her post by the door, glancing back worriedly. He unfolds a napkin, pours out a pile of ice onto it, wraps up the corners and holds it against his face. It stings. A couple of tables down, a guy with a guitar and a heavy Gaelic accent starts singing softly. Once the glass has been emptied and the stack of napkins exhausted, Rob looks mostly presentable and the pain is somewhat numbed, so he gets up to leave. As he heads for the door, he looks at the waitress again and there's a tug on his memory. He stops, turns from the door, and heads straight for her. "Look, this is going to sound really stupid, and I'm sorry, but what's your name? 'Cause I'm sure I know you from somewhere." She looks into his face for a moment or two. "Your name's Rob, isn't it?" Rob smiles. "Yeah." She gives a lopsided grin. "I was at St. John's." He snaps his fingers. "I knew it! And you're... I want to say Erica..." "Brekke. Erica and I were inseperable back then, everyone got us confused." Rob blinked a couple of times and rubbed his tender nose before inching his way back towards the door. "Right. Wow. Well hey, it's good to see you again." Brekke nodded. "Yeah, definitely. Take care of yourself." "Yeah." He pushed his way through the glass doors and took a breath of the cold winter air. What a crazy night.