Deafened

Summary: This story is going back in time to 2011 when Sam was in the limo explosion and lost her hearing. I've always felt that the storyline was too short and decided to take the opportunity to expand it. There is some confusion in that it is 2011 but I'm imagining that Danny and Scout are alive and are the age that they are today. I felt like this story would be more interesting and provide more angst, drama, and juiciness. Also, in this story, Scout is Jason's (not trying to overcomplicate things too much. Whether you picture Jason to be played by SBu or BM is completely up to you.

Let me know your thoughts and enjoy.

Chapter 1

Jason sat patiently and quietly beside Sam as she slept soundly, seemingly not bothered by the constant bustle and hustle of the hospital. Jason was glad that she was finally getting some sleep. She had complained of a headache earlier and Patrick had prescribed some painkillers and rest. He had also ordered for her not to get out of bed without assistance after the latest incident.

He'd been terrified to walk into Sam's room with Kristina sitting on an empty bed. It didn't help matters that Kristina was panicking and going on about her friend Ally. He breathed a sigh of relief when Sam returned but, alas, she still couldn't hear. Dr. Drake had assured them that the specialist would be in to see Sam as soon as possible but it wasn't soon enough for Jason, Alexis and especially not for Sam.

He knew Sam was terrified though she didn't let it on. She had cried briefly when she first realized the situation in the ER, but now, she had kept it all internalized. It was also as if for Sam if she were to reveal her emotions it'd be an avalanche effect. It would make the situation more evident, truer and dire.

Alexis had noticed the change in demeanor from Sam as well. She and Jason had been together with Sam as she slept after Ethan had offered to bring Kristina and Molly home. Both sat on either side of Sam, changing their gazes from Sam to their phones, to their surroundings and back to Sam again.

Alexis would tap her foot before Jason kindly ask her to stop. Then Jason would tap his fingers against the bed railing to a nervous rhythm before Alexis asked him to kindly stop.

"She doesn't look as pale as she did yesterday," Alexis whispered.

"No, some of her color is returning but her bruises are more pronounced," Jason replied. Both of Sam's cheeks were bruised; almost as if she had applied a harsh color of blush. There were also bruises and scratches on her upper arms that peaked out from the hospital gown. "She must have struggled against the Balkan or his henchmen before they drugged her."

"I'd love to get my hands on those bastards," Alexis said angrily, and Jason replied with a confused look. "Anyone who hurts any of my daughters is already dead to me. Just look what I did to Keifer."

"That was an accident."

"So they say."

Jason had been surprised by Alexis, but he couldn't say he felt any different. He hoped that when the Balkan was found he'd die a slow and painful death. Surely he wouldn't be missed. But Jason had given the job to Sonny; h didn't have the time to chase after the man that's been elusive all these months. He needed to stay by Sam, to help and support her. Hopefully, the specialist will have some answers. Maybe, this is all temporary and Sam will have her hearing back tomorrow. But he had an eerie feeling that that wasn't the case. That this was just the beginning.

Sam woke up, slowly opening her eyes, blinking a few times to get used to the bright fluorescent lights, and found her hands intertwined with Jason's. He'd fallen asleep next to her in a plastic chair, hunched over, with his head on her bed. She was awake before him; a rarity that she'd surely take advantage of. She studied his features, his high and sharp cheekbones, sharp nose, and the blond hair that was usually spiked. He had showered in the morning, here in the hospital and there was no gel to spike his hair, so now it simply hung over his forehead. She thought it was cute. Made him look softer and more youthful.

She closed her eyes for a few moments, focusing on her hearing, trying to hear her heart monitor, but alas, it was still quiet. And so, she simply kept her gaze towards a sleeping Jason, not willing to wake him up. She knew that he had stayed up as long as he possibly could, in case she woke up and needed him. But at some point, throughout the night, his body betrayed him. And though Jason always says he doesn't need much sleep, she was going to let him sleep for as long as possible.

It wasn't much longer, however. Jason suddenly woke up in a startle and quickly turned towards the door. Sam followed his gaze.

"Hi! Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." Alexis had barged into the room.

"No, it's fine. Come on in. I was just resting."

"I wasn't sure when the specialist would come in, so I figured I'd get here early just in case," Alexis explained, and Jason nodded in response.

"Hi honey, "Alexis waved to her daughter who kept mute and returned the wave. "Can you hear?" she asked with various hand signals so that Sam understood.

"Nothing," Sam shook her head. Alexis and Jason tried to hide their disappointment, but it was still evident.

"Do you still have a headache?" Alexis asked, again with hand signals and again, Sam shook her head.

"That's good." Alexis dropped her purse at the foot of the bed and walked over to Sam's bedside.

"I love you," she mouthed to Sam while holding Sam's face in her hands.

"I love you too," Sam replied loudly, unaware of her own volume of speech. Alexis leaned in to give a hug, one that was quickly returned. They both held onto one another longer than what felt like normal but they both didn't want to let go. Jason stood aside and again could see how blatantly scared Sam was.

"Do you need anything?" Alexis asked but this time, her question wasn't understood by her daughter. She tried with more exaggerated movements and slower speech.

"No," Sam shook her head. "I'm tired." Jason gave a pitied look. The nights in the hospital didn't garner either of them much sleep as the nurses came in every two hours on the first night to purposely wake Sam up because of concussion protocol. And then the previous two nights weren't much of an improvement. Sam began experiencing painful headaches, something that Patrick said was to be expected and not a warrant for further concern. But it concerned Alexis and Jason. Neither wanted to see Sam suffering and Jason had blown up at Patrick. He was powerless to help the woman he loves but the doctor had the medical degree. He was the one that was supposed to help but Jason felt he wasn't doing anything. The simple answer, though, was that there was little for Patrick to do. All Dr. Drake could do was offer to prescribe Sam sumatriptan instead of the ordinary ibuprofen or acetaminophen in the hopes it would alleviate Sam's symptoms and it did for the most part. Along with a sedative, Sam was finally able to sleep for a few hours.

Jason quickly grabbed the small whiteboard and marker on the nightstand beside the bed and began writing. "Do you want me to ask the nurse if they can give you another sedative?" Jason wrote quickly on the board before turning it around to Sam.

"No, it makes me foggy."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Hi Jason and Alexis, good morning," Dr. Drake walked in the room, with a middle-aged woman in a white coat beside him. "I'd like for you to meet Dr. Clars, she's a specialist that I brought in to examine Sam. Dr. Clars, this is Sam's mother and long-time boyfriend."

"Hi, nice to meet you," the new doctor offered her hand. "Dr. Drake filled me in on everything earlier today and from what I understand, Sam has completely lost her hearing?"

Jason and Alexis went on to explain all the events that had occurred, and the symptoms Sam had been experiencing. Meanwhile, Sam turned her head to look out the window, seemingly left out of another conversation that was about her. Left to her own thoughts, Sam couldn't help but think that this could be the rest of her life. Simply out of touch with the rest of the world. She'd been trying not to think of the worst, never being able to hear Danny's laugh, Scout's cries, and Jason's soothing voice, but moments like this, there was little else she could think about. She felt a few tears well up in her eye but was quick to suppress them.

"Well, the plan of action is as follows. I'll begin with a simple physical exam and I'll look over her MRI scans that were taken over the last two days. Dr. Drake already assured me that he didn't spot any brain bleeds, which is great. Based on that, I'll determine if I want to run any further exams and tests. We'll look to see if Sam's hearing loss is temporary and determine a treatment plan for her," Dr. Clars spoke in detail.

"What are you looking for in the scans. I'm sure Patrick has gone through those several times?" Alexis asked.

"Right, I'm certain he has, however, he's not an expert on hearing or traumatic injury to the ears, and he may have missed some evidence of damage to Sam's inner ears."

Both Alexis and Jason were slightly taken aback by the doctor's directedness.

"I don't mean any disrespect to Dr. Drake," the doctor followed.

"If there is damage to Sam's inner ears, is it fixable?" Jason asked this time.

"Yes, it is. I'll get more into the specifics once we know more."

Jason turned around to check on Sam and immediately felt a pang of guilt. She was looking out the window, lost in her own world. He moved towards her and then saw the tears that had threatened to fall from her eyes.

"Everything is ok," he mouthed to her.

Alexis turned around and saw Sam's distress.

"Baby, don't cry, don't cry." She moved to wipe away her daughter's tears.

"Would you like for me to administer a small sedative before we run some tests?" Dr. Clars asked, feeling rather awkward alongside Dr. Drake in the corner of the room.

Jason was quick to shake his head. "No, just give her a minute." Sam didn't like sedatives; she wanted to be in control and alert, something that was already so difficult to do.

"We'll give you some time alone," Patrick spoke, opening the door and giving Dr. Clars the hint to leave as well.

"Thank you," Jason replied, before turning to Sam.

"What is happening?" Sam asked loudly. Jason picked up the whiteboard, writing in short brief sentences to summarize the conversation between him and doctors, and then showing the board to Sam for her to read. Alexis simply held Sam's hand and wiped away a stray tear that finally fell down Sam's cheek.

"It's ok," Jason spoke. "I'm here. I love you."

Sam picked up her hand, pushing her middle and ring finger down and turned her hand towards Jason.