My RA Ch. 01a

Thanks to Tigerssman and "UNK" (RIP) for guidance on this story.

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Joy started work at the nursing home soon after she got home from school. Joy found an ex-Mistress who took Joy under her wing. She could see Joy was special. She was held in the highest regard by the whole community. She was only referred to as "Gran." Only David knew her real name as she was his real Gran.

Joy always spent extra time with 'Gran' after work. Joy needed to learn. 'Gran' had a plan for Joy also, not to be a sub, but to be an equal. Her plan will take time to come to fruition.

This is what Joy needed, a restart. Pressures from school had taken their toll. Working with the seniors seemed to engage Joy.

Joy saw a filler story on the news about pet therapy dogs and how they help seniors. Joy asked the administrator if the nursing home would be interested in having pet therapy animals. The administrator thought it was a great idea. Having allergy bloodwork to test for environmental allergies would be good to have in everyone's medical records. The nursing home let Joy reduce her hours so she could train her dog.

Joy was teamed up with 'Buddy' a gorgeous Belgium Mal whose fur just seemed to shine. You could not get a better team, the training was going three times faster than what was normal. In a way, 'Buddy' was teaching Joy and she knew how to take commands.

The trainers thought Joy was ready to learn some very special and more complicated commands. They were to be used sparingly, if at all. Soon 'Buddy' and Joy graduated and Joy had a forever friend.

Before the arrival of Joy the seniors did not interact with each other the way they should. The nursing home encouraged people to eat together in one of the cafes to socialize more. When Joy got there she convinced a few more to interact with each other.

The first day Joy brought 'Buddy' in there was just a total change. Everyone loved 'Buddy', they would get up extra early so they did not miss his morning rounds. At meal time it was almost a contest to see who had the best 'Buddy' story.

When the children visited, they loved looking at the shiny pins and ribbons 'Buddy' had on his jacket.

'Buddy' had a dramatic effect on the health of everyone. Soon the seniors requested a small indoor pool so they could share their therapy with all their friends.

'Buddy' was everything people talked about. He became a focal point for everyone. The nurses knew every story by heart. Each person put their own spin on the story.

David, 'Gran's' grandson, who was pre-med, loved to see the improvement in his beloved grandmother's life since 'Buddy' came. He and Joy often worked the early shift to do the routine checks and to find out how everyone was feeling. They made a great team.

The next day started out much like any other day; the seniors got up early and could not wait to see what the day would bring. No one could anticipate what was going to happen.

Soon two disgruntled, recently fired, employees came in armed with assault weapons, handguns and knives. Soon the lobby was riddled with pot marked walls; it was a war zone. Many of the seniors could not move fast enough to avoid getting hit. The senior nurse dived behind the desk only to be strafed by gunfire as she did so. The junior nurse tried to do what she could, but it was to no avail.

The senior nurse gave the junior nurse a phone number to the senior surgeon who was out of state at a health seminar. She said he could give David the authorization to treat people and to write prescriptions. With that the senior nurse died.

Now only David, Joy and the junior nurse were the only ones to care for people, and they were hiding from the gunman.

Joy was giving a senior his bath, she drained the water, "Stay in the tub. The tub will protect you from gunfire." Joy jumped on another senior's bed acting as a human shield. She was rapidly running through her commands that she learned and made sure she said the command correctly.

CAP, ORGE, SEIZE!

With that 'Buddy' bolted out the door at breakneck speed. The targets acquired, 'Buddy' launched himself at the attackers. They did not know what hit them; the guns were strewn on the ground. The gunman were face down on the floor and 'Buddy' made it very clear that any movement would be unwise.

The junior nurse called out and said it was over. She gave Joy and David scrubs. Masks and double gloves saying with this amount of blood you need to stay safe. It was pure carnage.

Joy knew she could not help the dead and David would start to help those he could. Joy would be damned if she could not pray for those who were gravely wounded. Many were too far gone to speak, Joy was hoping if she could feed those the salvation questions that God would permit even an eye blink as a profession of faith. Joy had found her calling and her center.

By now the junior nurse had called the senior surgeon and said there had been a shooting. The senior nurse was dead as well as many of the seniors. Only David and Joy were here. She said you could give David authorization and prescriptions to treat everyone.

After explaining the situation to his colleagues, he adjourned the meeting and went to the fax machine to help David. The colleagues that worked near the nursing home made calls for support.

The nearby army barracks was the first to respond. As they entered the nursing home the company commander shouted "Officer on deck!" All saluted 'Buddy'. He was somewhat of a legend for his courage and heroism, and got his rank of Captain because of it.

The MP's soon disarmed and put the gunmen in custody; they will not see daylight for some time to come. The question was just how many murders will they will be charged with.

Joy had some of the soldiers group the gravely wounded into groups of two or three so she could pray for more of them. It was a race against the clock for many of them.

David was frazzled in the beginning, Joy took him aside and said, "I believe in you, trust in your training, God will guide your hands." The nurse followed behind David with the Doctor on speaker phone if David had any questions. He broke down as he heard his friends moaning and groaning their last breaths. A good friend at the conference took over for him to help David.

David, Joy and the nurse had never seen such bloodshed before, but these were their friends, they had to help at the best of their abilities.

The soldiers had set up three conference rooms as morgues. They were far too full for their liking.

Then David saw 'Gran' he broke down, she was in bad shape. Joy yelled for three soldiers shouting, "Put direct pressure on any holes you find, we need to stop the bleeding!" She threw several towels at them. David will give her meds soon. Joy pleaded, "Stay with us 'Gran', we need you."

'Gran' did survive, just. She was in a makeshift ICU. Medical personal had started to flood the nursing home. David and Joy were with 'Gran' when she grabbed both David's and Joy's hand and clasped the two.

She proclaimed they were soulmates and were to go to NFU to study. David to study medicine and Joy to study religion. Then there was a pause. 'Gran' was upset. David, I taught you better manners than that, kiss the girl already.

Back at NFU shouts and screams echoed in the hallways, "There has been a shooting at Joy's nursing home and she was there. No official count of the dead yet."

The Dean called Mei at once, "Chef is packing food for your trip. You and Anne are going to take my car up to Joy's parents. Joy will need you. Only stop for gas and bathroom breaks." When the Dean gave Mei the key she also handed her a slip of paper.

After reading it she simply said "Yes ma'am."

Mei asked, "Anne can you drive first? This is Joy and she might be hurt or worse." Mei tried to sleep, but could only run through her mind the worse possible outcome.

Anne sternly told Mei, "Put on your sleep mask Mei, it might help relax you. Dig out 'Bear' also."

As soon as they were off, The Dean called in several grief counselors. Everyone was shaken to their core. Televisions were placed in the gym and the Café; everyone wanted to keep up to date and if they wanted to talk, the counselors were scattered around. Most of the students were in a state of shock. Joy's sub friends even more so.

Molly ran to her mom, "Mommy, what happened to Miss Joy? What happened to her?!" Her Mom just came over to hug her. By now all the children were in the club. Many did not like the fact they were not being told what was going on with their friend.

Molly's Mom started off, "There was some very bad men who did some very bad things where Miss Joy works. Many have 'Gone to meet Jesus.' We think Miss Joy is OK, but she is hurting inside. We all need to pray for Miss Joy and everyone else who she works with. Pray the doctors will do the right things to make everyone well. Miss Mei and Miss Anne are traveling up to see Miss Joy, so pray for them as well."

They all knew what "Gone to meet Jesus" meant. Molly bolted for her house and hunted down her dolly. When the others saw Molly with her dolly the others did likewise. Just like Joy, Molly's kind and caring heart gave her a leader type status. The children prayed as hard as they could.

The trip was long but it was soon coming to an end, it was after midnight. When Mei and Anne walked in they saw David and Joy finally asleep. Mei rummaged through her luggage and found what she was looking for, 'Teddy' and 'Bear', she tucked them in Joy's arms. Then she pointed to Hope and Anne and pointed at David. Soon 'Goldie' and 'Cubby' were cradled in David's arms.

Joy awoke seeing 'Teddy' and 'Bear' in her arms, still not being quite awake yet, it took her awhile to process this new information. Soon "MISTRESS!" was heard waking up David. Joy ran to Mei and broke down. She had her anchor, her confidant.

David found out 'Gran' had just a week to live, maybe less. David told Joy he wanted to marry her before 'Gran' passed. Joy did not know what to do, she pledged to David she will be with him forever. She did not have a dress or flowers or anything.

Joy's Dad mentioned, "You know Hunny, I have been trying to get rid of a certain box for over twenty years. I think it is time to give it away."

Hope went to her bedroom and dug out the box, she broke down as she laid it on Joy's lap. Joy looked at Hope with a quizzical expression. When Joy opened the box there was a collective gasp. It was Hope's wedding dress complete with a veil. It still blazed white even after twenty years.

Joy insisted that Jacob preform the ceremony. Mei told Joy, "Slow down and take a deep breath." Then she handed Joy the note The Dean gave her. The note read, "For Joy's inspection, Mistress' Skype number." Joy blushed crimson. Soon Joy was presenting David to Dawn. Dawn asked, "Mei what are your impressions?"

"Mistress, they are soulmates, not even death could separate them."

Dawn walked over and picked up her flogger, "Young man, Joy is very special to me. If you break her heart I will hunt you down and blister your ass so badly you will not be able to sit for a year."

Mei told Joy, "Show Mistress your neck Joy."

Joy showed Dawn she still wore her collar. Joy also showed David.

"David, back at school I was a sub, my RA is my Mistress, but as she had not done this before she got some help. As you can see there are three initials on the collar. The "M" stands for Mei, she is my confidant. The "D" stands for Dawn, my RA and who is my true Mistress. The "A" stood for the Dean of the school, she oversees everything.

As soon as Jacob heard he was tapped to marry David and Joy, he called Alkaia and told her to pack the gym. This was too important for everyone to not include them. Soon the post hit the web; the news just exploded. Tomorrow at noon was the wedding, the children could not believe it, and they all ran to look in their treasures to find everything that Joy needs.

Molly's Dad said, "Molly I want to give Joy a present. Do you think you could put this in your shoe to give Miss Joy good fortune?"

"I will Daddy, this is very important."

Molly rounded up all the kids, "Once we get all the pieces, we will all hold hands during the wedding so it will be like Miss Joy has them." Everyone nodded.

Joy and David had a bedside wedding. Joy agreed to get the wedding ring after ceremony. In attendance are Joy's parents, Mei and Anne. 'Gran' was wheeled to the common room so all seniors can watch. Jacob did a suburb job Joy and David were too distracted to notice a couple thousand people were watching. Shortly after the ceremony David's grandmother passed away with a look of contentment on her face.

Anne pulled David aside, "I am so sorry for your loss. When my Dad died Joy helped me through my grief. Now God has given her to you to help you with all of your problems and for you to help her with all of her problems. God always makes the right match."

Hope, Mei and Anne made arrangements for the funeral to take off some of the burden from Joy and David.

Joy went with David at the reading of 'Gran's' will. Everything was left to David and Joy. 'Gran' had changed her will just before she died. The estate was extensive, there was a large amount of paperwork and in addition, everything had to reflect that Joy was David's wife.

To be continued.

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Thanks to Tigerssman and "UNK" for guidance on this story.