"Sam!" Phil shouted in shock then apologised as she groaned in pain. "I'm gonna go get a doctor Sam, I'll be back in a second ok?"
"Don't leave me Phil...please" she whispered so softly she was barely audible.
"I'll only be a couple of seconds honey, I'll be straight back"
Phil let go of her hand and left the room to find a doctor, leaving Sam on her own. He returned after a minute with Dr Munroe in tow and stood back while he checked all the machines that Sam was connected to. He spoke to her in a low voice that Phil couldn't make out from where he was standing.
After a minute, he turned and left, beckoning for Phil to follow him.
"Is she ok?" Phil asked as soon as they were out of hearing range of Sam.
"Amazingly, she seems fine. I can't say anything for sure just now but I think she'll make a full recovery." he stopped talking when he saw the wide grin on Phils face. "Don't get too excited Mr Hunter, like I said, I can't say anything for definate. Her condition could deteriorate over the next few hours but I think it's unlikely. She seems to be doing well. She's very lucky, the volume of drugs we found in her system should have killed her!" The doctor stopped talking and smiled at Phil who was grinning from ear to ear "You'd better get back in there, she'll be wondering where you are."
Doctor Munroe walked away, leaving Phil alone. He knew he should call Stuart and let him know that Sam was ok but he wanted a little while alone with her so instead of going outside to make the call, he opened the door and went back into Sams room.
Meanwhile, back at the station, Stuart had alerted everyone as to what had happened and was busy trying to find a lead but he just kept hitting dead ends. Without the CCTV footage he couldn't do much to help. The only thing that could help him now would be a statement from Sam if she pulled through. Stuart gave up and went back to St Hughs to see her.
"How are you feeling?" Phil asked Sam gently
"I'm not really sure" Sam replied weakly "I feel a bit numb"
"Are you in any pain?"
"A little. My head hurts but it's bearable." Phil nodded his head and felt his eyes well up for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. He hated seeing her like this, knowing there was nothing he could do to help her. He would have given anything to swap places with her, to take away her pain, especially after the bombshell he was going to have to drop on her.
"What happened?" she asked him
"Sam..." Phil began, not really sure how he was going to phrase this "D-Do you remember anything that happened after I left earlier on today? Anything at all?"
"erm...I remember feeling ill. Stuart was there and we were arguing and then...nothing"
"What were you arguing about?"
"You" Sam said simply.
"Oh, do you remember when you started to feel ill? You never mentioned it when I was here earlier."
"No it was after you left. I think it was after I took those pills. She said they'd make me feel better but they didn't"
Phil felt his heart leap.
"Who's 'she' Sam?"
"One of the nurses. Why are you asking me this?"
Phil took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
"Sam you fell ill because you took an overdose of a drug called 'Dantrolene'"
Sams face was blank
"Someone took that drug out of the cabinet and gave it to you only they gave you far too much. That person probably wasn't a nurse honey" Phil said as gently as he could.
"Are you saying that that woman tried to murder me!?" Phil could see the panic building inside her and immediately regretted telling her. He should have waited until she had recovered.
"It's ok now though Sam because your ok, your gonna be fine and we're gonna catch whoever did this to you" he said trying to calm her down. "Sam...can you describe the woman that gave you those pills?"
"I don't really remember her. I know I hadn't seen her before, I remember thinking that she was new. Erm...she was tall...and I think she had dark hair."
"What was she wearing?"
"A nurses uniform"
"Ok" Phil didn't want to push Sam until she was a bit better.
Just then the door opened and in stormed Stuart, obviously fuming about something.
"Why the hell didn't you call me Hunter!?" he asked without even looking at Sam. "There was me, sitting in the office, thinking I'm never gonna get to see her again and your sat here with her, know that she's gonna be fine and you didn't even think to call me!" In his rage,Stuart swung a punch at Phil but Phil dodged it and automatically punched him back. Stuart fell from the force of Phils fist and landed on the floor by Sams bed. Both men were deaf to her pleas as they stared at each other with nothing but hatred.
"I didn't call you because I knew you'd just swoop in here and block me out like you've been doing since she woke up! I just wanted some time alone with MY girlfriend" Phil yelled at Stuart, emphasising the 'my'.
"She is not your girlfriend!" Stuart yelled back
Sam gave up asking them to stop, knowing they would just ignore her, and lay there with her eyes closed, trying to block them out and forget they were there. They were making her headache almost unbearable and she started whimpering softly in pain which went unnoticed by both men. She mustered up the strength to reach over to the buzzer and pressed it twice. Almost immediately, a nurse walked through the door. Stuart and Phil were both too busy shouting to notice her. They were completely oblivious to everything going on around them.
"What on Earths going on here?...You want me to get rid of them for you?" the nurse asked
"Yes" Sam whispered "My heads bursting"
The nurse turned to Phil and Stuart, who still hadn't noticed her, and took a few steps forward so she was standing inbetween them, blocking their view of each other.
"I'm sorry gentlemen but I'm going to have to ask you to leave" she said firmly
"What?" they said in unison.
"If you do not leave quietly I will call security and have you removed"
"But Sam won't..." Phil said turning to look at her. She was lying back with her eyes closed, holding her head with one hand and still whimpering softly. Phil immediately felt extremely guilty for causing her such pain.
"Sam...I'm sorry" he whispered
"Please just go Phil, I want to be on my own for a while."
Phil returned to Charlottes house, he was annoyed at being thrown from Sams room but at the same time, glad that Stuart had not been left with her.
"Hi Phil" Charlotte said when she saw him. "What are you doing back this early? I thought you'd want to stay with Sam. I wasn't expecting you back tonight." Her confused look suddenly changed as she realised what could have happened. "Oh Phil" she whispered "Did Sam...I'm so sorry"
"What?...Oh, no, Sam fine, she's gonna make a full recovery, I was thrown out for fighting with Stuart bloody Turner!"
"Oh...Sams ok?" A look of disappointment and annoyance fleeted across Charlottes face which did not go unnoticed by Phil.
"Yeah, amazingly, she's gonna be fine" he said looking at her suspiciously. He decided to let it drop, he'd probably imagined it anyway. "Is it ok if I stay here tonight Charlotte? I don't think I can face my cold, empty house."
"Thats fine" she said, pleased to have his company even though she knew he wouldn't let anything happen between them. "You know where the spare bedroom is. The bed hasn't been made yet though. I'll do it when I get back, I'm just going down to the supermarket for some milk."
"It's ok, I can do it myself"
"Ok, the sheets are in the top drawer in my bedroom. Help yourself."
"Right, bye" Phil said as she left. He wandered upstairs into her bedroom and found the top drawer. He opened it an took out the top sheets and was about to close it again when something caught his eye. A video tape, in the corner. Phil wondered what could possibly be on it to make Charlotte want to hide it. He took it out and held it, wondering if he should watch it or not. Charlotte obviously didn't want him to see it but the temptation was very strong. After a minute or two of debating with himself, he went back downstairs and put it in the machine. He checked to make sure Charlotte wasn't back yet then pressed play. Phils jaw dropped as the screen came to life and he realised he was watching the CCTV footage from the hospital. He did not understand, how could this tape have ended up in Charlottes hands? It couldn't be her...could it? It would fit if it was her...the description Sam gave...the look of annoyance on her face when she found out Sam was ok. Phils mind was reeling. He removed the tape just as Charlottes car pulled back into the driveway.
"Hiya" she said when she entered the house to find Phil leaning against the living room doorframe, watching her closely. "Hey Phil, I was thinking when I was out, why don't you stay here for a while? At least until Sam ges out of hospital and then..."
"Charlotte" Phil interupted sharply
"Is something wrong Phil?" she asked, picking up on his tone.
Phil held up the videotape.
"Whats this?..."