It's been to long, I don't own anything, let's roll...
Eyes wide open…
The nurses on the 5th floor of Columbus General Hospital always waited until Mercedes left to check Sam's vitals. There was something so special about her dedication to Sam, that all of the nurses hoped for a happy ending to their story.
"Bye, Mercedes see ya next week!" nurse Ami Larken said to Mercedes as she entered the elevator. Mercedes looked up at Ami with just a half smile, it made Ami's heart sink as the elevators closed before Mercedes face. Ami wanted to run to Mercedes and tell her not to give up, but knew that the only thing to cheer Mercedes up would be to see the open eyes of her Sam.
"I'm going to check on Sam" Ami told Felicia one of the other nurses on duty.
As Ami breezes into Sam's room she says, "Sam Evans, I think you need to put you're A game on, that lovely lady of yours is starting to get a little down." Ami has her back facing Sam as she prepares to run a few test. "I mean the girl's here every week sitting right by your side the most you can do is open you're…" Ami stops dead in her tracks as she turns to look at Sam. His eyes are open, and looking around like he's trying to figure out where he is. "Sam. Sam. Can you hear me?" He tries to respond, but nothing comes out. His skin turns ghostly pale and a look of panic emerges upon his face. Sam starts hyperventilating so Ami runs to place an oxygen mask on him. "Breath Sam, breath, it's going to be ok. My name is Ami, I'm here to help you, keep breathing, keep breathing." Ami pushes the call button to get some additional help. Immediately, Felicia comes running into the room, unable to believe the scene before her eyes.
"Felicia, call Dr. Stanchi and see if you can catch Mercedes before she leaves!" Ami calls out.
Upon hearing Mercedes name, Sam looks up at Ami and suddenly begins to feel a single tear fall down the side of his face. Ami looks down and gently wipes the tear away hoping that Mercedes is still in the building.
"Would Mercedes Jones please return to the 5th floor?"
As Mercedes walks out the electronic doors she could have sworn she heard her name being called. She stopped for a brief moment and heard nothing but silence so she proceeded to her car knowing that she was going to hustle to get home by 10:30. As she went to unlock her doors she realized that she left her keys on the table by Sam's bed.
"Shoot, mom & dad are going to kill me, this will be the second weekend in a row that I'm late getting home." Mercedes began to run into the hospital, but as she entered she heard it again:
"Would Mercedes Jones please return to the 5th floor?"
'Well at least I know they have my keys.' Mercedes said out loud. As she pressed the button to the 5th floor, she began think of all the excuses she could give to her parents to explain why she was late getting home.
"Hi, I'm Mercedes I think I left my keys here." She said to the nurse on duty. "Mercedes, Mercedes Jones?" the nurse asked her.
"Yes, that's me. I just heard my name called over the intercom, I left my keys in Sam's Evans room are they up here?"
"Hold on one second Mercedes."
Mercedes had an uneasy feeling telling her that something was wrong. She always respected the hospital visiting hours so she didn't want to run to Sam's room to make sure he was ok.
The absence of the nurse on duty felt like hours. When she returned to the nurses' station she simply said, "Come with me."
Mercedes placed a death grip on her purse pretending it was the hand of her mom or one of her brothers. The nurse led her to Sam's room and Mercedes began to feel the speed of her heart beats increase.
As she walked into Sam's room she stopped with a look of awe upon her face. She tried to talk, but nothing came out.
"Sam, my name is Dr. Stanchi, can you hear me?"
Mercedes could not hear a reply, but she saw a familiar mop of blonde hair moving up and down indicating he was saying Yes, Yes he could hear him!
Mercedes gasped, causing everyone in the room to turn and look at her. Sam was lying flat on his back, but even from where she stood she could see flecks of emerald reflected in his eyes. The room got quite.
"You must be Mercedes." Dr. Stanchi smiled "And I believe that this young man belongs to you."
Mercedes still unable to speak nodded her head in the affirmative.
"Well, Sam gave us a bit of a scare a few minutes ago, he had a slight panic attack, but now he's calm, you want to come over and say hello?"
Mercedes slowly walked over to Sam, not even sure what to say. She's dreamed of this moment for 2 months and now that's it's here she's speechless.
"Ami or Felicia, can you give Mr. & Mrs. Evans a call, I'm sure they will want to get here as soon as possible."
"Mercedes," Dr. Stanchi said as Mercedes looked up at him. "Sam's been through a lot over the past 2 months, he may not have his complete voice and cognitively he may struggle with his memory, but we have taken good care of him and we are certain of a full recovery."
"I'll give you a few minutes and then come back to check on Sam."
"Thank you Dr. Stanchi" Mercedes said looking up at the doctor. In that very moment, Mercedes felt a jolt run up her arm. Sam found her hand and immediately laced their fingers together. Mercedes looked down and felt the tears stream down her eyes.
"Hey, you." Mercedes said as she allowed her right hand to brush his hair away from his eyes. "I've missed you."
Sam said nothing as the oxygen mask was still upon his face. But the look in his eyes was enough conversation for the two of them. "The nurses are calling your mom & dad. And I'm sure the screams of Stevie & Stacie will alert the neighborhood to the good news." At hearing his brother & sister's name, Sam slowly closed his eyes, allowing tears to fall freely from both of them. He took a deep breath and raised his left hand to remove the oxygen mask. Not a sound came out as he tried to speak. "Dr. Stanchi said you may not have your voice for a while, do you want some paper?" Sam nodded yes and Mercedes reached for her purse feeling a tighter grip on her hand as she tried to let go of Sam's hand to get the pen and paper. She smiled at the jester and decided to use the pad next to Sam's bed.
Reluctantly, Sam let go of Mercedes hand and began writing.
"THANK YOU"
Mercedes looked at the piece of paper and said, "Thank you. Thank you for what?" she asked
Taking a little while to collect his thoughts and put to paper what he wanted to say.
"NOT GIVING UP"
Reading the three words Sam wrote, Mercedes began to cry. Sam pats the empty spot in the bed next to him and motioned that he wants Mercedes to lie next to him.
"Sam if I get on this bed, I am sure it will flip over"
Sam rolls his eyes and writes,
"GIRL, DO YOU WANT TO GET CUT?
Mercedes smiles to herself, hops on the bed and realizes that as usual they are a perfect fit.
"I'm tired Sam." Mercedes whispers as she traces the patterns on his hospital gown. Suddenly she feels his arms around her, pulling her closer to his body.
Their eyes close together…and for the first time, in a long time Mercedes & Sam find genuine rest.
Ok, everyone. I hope you liked the latest update. Can't wait to read more of your beautiful reviews. Our next section will skip to summer or possibly senior year. I know where I want to take this, but not sure yet how I'm going to get there…bear with me, I want to make it good and do this lovely couple justice! Sweet dreams everyone-