Recover by Kate

Summary: When Sam McCall left Port Charles, she vowed to never look back but you can only run away for so long until your past comes knocking on your door.

Prologue

He approached the door to her apartment nervously. He was brought up a gentleman and gentlemen always called first, they never showed up at someone's door out of the blue, unannounced and quite possibly unwelcome.

He lifted his hand and knocked on the door twice. "It's me," he told the person inside. He hoped that letting her know who it was gave her a reason to open the door to him.

Surprisingly, the door opened and she appeared with her hazel eyes alive with curiosity. "What's going on, Nikolas?" she questioned.

"You said if I was ever in Manhattan that I should look you up," he reminded her of their first telephone conversation after she had left Port Charles.

"I did," she recalled, scrunching her eyebrows as she studied him closer.

"Here I am," he shrugged and knew that the pain he was feeling was mirrored in his eyes from the way her demeanour towards him changed.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, taking a step outside, closing some of the distance between them.

"Can I come in?" he asked, looking past her and inside. He caught a glimpse of the living room and marvelled at how inviting it looked. These days nothing seemed alluring to him. Not without her.

She hesitated as she peered over her shoulder and then returned her attention back to him. Finally she shrugged and said, "Sure, come on in." She led the way into the living room and sat down on the couch, patting the cushion beside her, inviting him to take a seat.

He sat down. "Thanks," he said.

"I don't have much in the way of food but I could offer you a bottle of water if you're thirsty," she said.

"No, thanks. I'm fine," he said.

Her face lost some of it's natural light. Something seemed to dawn on her as she shook her head at him.

"You are not."

"Sam," Nikolas began but she raised a silencing hand to him.

"Just tell me what happened," she said, urging him to confide in her. Despite the amount of time that had passed, they were still cousins and she had promised to always be someone he could talk to.

He leaned back against the couch and succumbed to the grief he had been holding back until he was in the company of a trusted friend.

"She's gone," he cried and allowed her to put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Sam raised her eyebrows at him. "Who?"

"Emily, she's dead," he answered painfully, closing his eyes in regret at saying it aloud. It was the first time he allowed himself to admit it by saying the words out loud.

Chapter 1

Two months later, Sam McCall walked into Kelly's one morning wearily. It had been so long since she had been in Port Charles, and she was nervous about seeing the people she had left behind.

She hadn't been noticed yet so she nodded to her earlier idea of going straight to Wyndemere when she got to town to see her cousin. But just as she was about to turn on her heel, a voice called her name.

"Sam?" he asked in surprise. "Is that you?"

And I was so close, she thought to herself as she turned her head in the direction of the man that had called her name. When she saw Mike waving her over from behind the counter, a smile spread across her face as she walked over.

"I knew I recognized that coat," the old man said once she was standing at the counter.

"How are you doing, kiddo?"

"Hey, Mike," Sam greeted him, shaking his outstretched hand. "I'm not bad."

"Well, where'd you disappear to?" Mike asked, grabbing a mug from under the counter and filling it with coffee while looking up at her for confirmation that she wanted some coffee.

Sam nodded at the coffee. "I went a lot of places on my new boat," she said.

"New boat?" he asked.

"Yeah, The Lazarus II," Sam answered. "I bought it with my severance package from the show."

"I was docked in Manhattan for a few months," she added.

"Is that where you came from?" Mike asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

"So how long do we have you for?" he asked.

Sam pursed her lips together. Should she tell him that she wasn't sure? She had been able to take three months off work but she was only here for Nikolas and to see her family. Her plans were definitely short term.

"I'm not staying if that's what you're asking," she replied, deciding that telling him as little as possible was the best way to go. In her peripheral vision, she noticed many pairs of eyes and ears perked up, listening in on every word that was exchanged between her and Mike.

"That's a shame," Mike commented, looking down sadly as he handed her the steaming cup of coffee.

Sam looked at him in surprise. "Why?" She couldn't hide the fact that she was caught off guard by his obvious disappointment with the news from her voice.

"You've been missed," he said. He raised his head and smiled at her kindly.

Shocked at the honesty he was showing her, she found herself struggling with the news that she was missed by people who weren't related to her. "Thank you."

"The last few months have been pretty dreary here," Mike said.

"I've heard," Sam said.

"So you know about it then?" Mike asked, looking down in sadness again.

"Yeah, and Emily will be missed by many people," Sam said, feeling the grief overtake her for a minute as a few tears slid down her face.

"Emily?" Mike questioned.

"Yeah, Nikolas came to see me after her funeral," she replied.

"Oh," Mike nodded and she could tell that he was struggling with something.

"Emily and I had our quarrels from time to time, but she was a great friend and Nikolas adored her. I miss her more than I thought I would," Sam continued.

"Yes, I'm sure you do and so will a lot of people but I was actually talking about someone else," Mike said.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, looking up at him in worry. "Has there been another victim after Emily?"

Tears welled up in his eyes as he nodded. "Yes," he replied.

"Who?" Sam asked.

"Georgie," Mike replied, stumbling over her name.

Her eyes widened in shock as she processed everything. "Georgie Jones?" At his nod, she asked, "When?"

"Three days ago."

After saying goodbye to Mike, Sam gulped down her coffee and headed outside. Once she was at her car she pulled out her cell and dialled Nikolas' number.

"Hello?" Nikolas answered on the second ring.

"Hey, it's Sam," she greeted her cousin. "I'm in town."

"Already?" Nikolas asked in surprise. "Are you okay? You sound weird."

"I'll be fine. I called to tell you I'll be a little later than I planned," Sam replied.

"Why?" Nikolas asked.

"There's someone I need to see," she said cryptically.

"Who?"

"An old friend."

She got out of her car and walked up the driveway. Once she was up the steps she knocked on the door several times.

A minute later, she opened the door to her.

"I came as soon as I heard," Sam said.

She looked up, revealing her tearstained face and her blue eyes widened in shock. "Sam," she exclaimed and the two friends hugged each other.

"I'm so sorry about your sister, Maxie," Sam said to her old friend.

Maxie Jones tightened her arms around her closest girl friend as her sobs increased.

"Thanks for coming, Sam."