It is often said by many that a terrible and traumatic event occurs in front of someone as if it were in slow motion or so fast the person who witnesses it doesn't have time to react. Sam McPherson would've probably believed the same notions had she not found herself in such a position. It was the night of the prom of Kennedy High and it had been going relatively smoothly until Brooke McQueen had clashed with Sam over the matter of Harrison's affections. The two of them went at each other's throats as was the usual manner in which they engaged one another. It was very rare the times when Sam and Brooke would willingly be in the other girl's company and be friendly and civil with each other. For the life of her, the journalist could not work out the pathological need she seemed to have to constantly battle with the captain of Kennedy High's cheerleading squad. At first, she put it down to a deep-rooted belief that Brooke was a mean-hearted and self-centred bitch who didn't care what person she trod on as long as her popularity was maintained. However, this had changed more of late as Sam had spent more time in Brooke's company and got to know the blonde more as one of the most beautiful people she could ever hope to meet, inside and out. Not that she had ever considered confessing such truths to anyone, she still had her pride to protect and if her friends believed she hated Brooke more than anything else, then she wasn't about to squash that illusion. However, that particular night had seen the two girls once more go at it, clashing over Harrison of all people. Sam had known Harrison all of her life basically, she knew he was a sweet and funny guy and not really that bad to look at. But, her feelings had never once gone beyond the realms of friendship for him and on this night, they had stayed firmly in those boundaries. Something else had stirred in her heart that night, when Brooke had demanded that Harrison choose between herself and Sam. It was a feeling that almost roared in Sam's head in the aftermath of Harrison's decision; he chose Sam over Brooke, resulting in the blonde running from the school in tears. Sam had followed in hot pursuit, her heart breaking at the thought of Brooke being completely hurt and devastated over something so trivial. Her heart all but stopped when she saw a bright blue Jaguar XJ220 speed along the main road, completely out of control, hurtling straight towards Brooke.

"Brooke, look out!" Sam's voice echoed in the still night air, but it oddly felt as though the cry had come from someone else. Even as her eyes witnessed Brooke stop in the middle of the road, completely rooted to the spot in fear, the luxury sports car sending her flying over the hood as though she was merely a toy being thrown away by an annoyed infant, Sam's brain refused to accept what was happening as being real. It all seemed to be something played out by her deepest nightmares, even the sickening thud Brooke's prone form made when it hit the tarmac behind the car. This all seemed like Sam to be something from a dream, her body completely numb with shock and her heart all but stopped beating. Only Harrison racing up and grabbing her around the shoulders shook Sam out of her stupor as her brain finally registered what it had witnessed and her mind screamed it back at her. Brooke's been hurt, Brooke's been hurt, Brooke's been hurt! She could be dead!

"Sam! Are you all right? What happened to Brooke!" Harrison's hysterical questions rang through Sam's ears, but she found herself remaining surprisingly calm in spite of what she had just seen. Her body had seemed to switch itself onto autopilot as she took out her mobile phone from her handbag and dialled 911. She whispered the details of the emergency down the phone to the operator, staying unnaturally composed and when she hung up after giving all of the necessary details; she pushed her way past Harrison. Her eyes gave the Jaguar car a look-over as recognition dawned on her. There was only one person in town who could afford such a rare and luxurious car, only one person insane enough to try and kill Brooke with a speeding car, only one person who would even attempt to drive a valuable car while heavily intoxicated. Her suspicions were confirmed when she approached the driver's seat of the vehicle, which had crashed into the side of a building after hitting Brooke. Nicole was slumped into the now deflated airbag unconscious, her head bleeding quite a bit from where fragments of glass from the windshield had cut in. A million thoughts and emotions ran through Sam's head, she wanted so badly to grab Nicole Julian by the throat and punch the living daylights out of her for what she did. Just keep hitting the supreme bitch of Kennedy High, make her feel even a portion of the pain and agony now surging in Sam's heart. But her eyes caught sight of Harrison and Carmen, who had came from somewhere but Sam wasn't sure where. They were crouched over Brooke, checking her vital life signs and supporting her until help arrived. The bay of vengeance which Sam's heart had been crying abruptly died away and once more began tugging and almost reaching the point of not beating at all. It was new, yet familiar, this feeling of her world falling away and her feelings of being pathetic. Her dad had slipped away, taken from her by a terrible disease and Sam had been powerless to help him, only instead having a front row seat to his suffering before he eventually found peace and relief. Tears pricked her eyes, but she was determined not to let them fall. Brooke is not dead! Brooke cannot die, she can't dammit! I won't let her! Kneeling down beside Brooke, Sam gently swept some hair which had been sent askew onto the other girl's face. There were a few scratches and cuts on her face but otherwise, Sam felt that Brooke looked as though she was merely sleeping. Her breathing was soft and gentle, the sweetest sound that Sam thought she had ever heard in her life. Hopefully, this would not end in the same tragic way her father's battle with leukaemia had. She was so caught up in her thoughts, her internal hopes of what may or may not happen that Sam hardly noticed Carmen wrap her arms around her until she felt a tight cuddle. Her eyes never once left Brooke's face, not even for a second, while she silently prayed for some inkling of life. In what seemed like another lifetime, the ambulance arrived and the paramedics began pulling and prying at the driver's door of Nicole's car. A soft murmur and some slight feel of movement caught Sam's attention and she looked back down to Brooke.

"S-Sam?" the soft, whispered word from Brooke almost broke Sam's heart. Without thinking, without even caring about anything aside from the moment, Sam lowered her head and placed a feather-light kiss on the blonde's forehead. Some of her tears spilled down onto Brooke's head as well, as her fraught emotions finally gave way.

"I'm here, B-Brooke," her voice faltered, strained with pain, sadness and joy, "how are you feeling?" Brooke's eyes fluttered open and they gazed around hazily at the surroundings. She took in Carmen and Harrison's worried faces, the wreckage of Nicole's car, the distraught visage of Sam.

"Not too good," her reply was still eerily soft, "everything hurts, S-Sam." Before she could reply, Sam felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned to face a male paramedic with a stretcher. Moving out of his way, Sam took hold of one of Brooke's hands while the young man put her neck into a brace and signalled to his colleagues who had been settling Nicole on the ambulance to help him. Once they were all gathered around, the medical team counted a few times before lifting Brooke onto the stretcher with their hands linked underneath her. It pained Sam to see Brooke's eyes fill with tears of pain, while all she could do was gently rub her knuckles with her own hand. As she stepped into the ambulance, the male paramedic who had been first to approach Brooke spoke gently to Sam.

"Are you family, Miss?" he asked politely, "It's just, only family can ride in the ambulance with the victim." Shaking slightly as the shock her body had been under started to wear off and the gravity of the situation hit full force, Sam stuttered slightly as she replied.

"I-I'm her s-sister," she barely kept her calm when talking. The paramedic nodded in understanding before going upfront while a couple of his colleagues sat in the back with the patients. It was a tragic scene for them and it may as well have been all three of the girls who had been hurt by that car. Carmen and Harrison could only look on as the ambulance sped off out of sight, before walking forlornly back to the High School to tell everyone else what had happened and contact Jane and Mike to update them. This was a prom night nobody would want to remember, but they would have no choice in the matter.