I just wanted to answer a review here just incase anyone else was thinking the same thing! Roseheart was a little sad that this story seems to have lost a bit of Sam's character and personality, BUT I have a very good reason for this. I haven't lost sight of her character, and I've written a detailed explanation of why Sam seems so different:
Roseheart-Yes, it's true that Sam is acting a bit OOC (kinder and gentler) in this story. But you have to understand she's still on drugs, and has been ever since the surgery. Of course, the drugs have been wearing off a few times, but her body's never been fully cleared of them since the hospital. I think the last time she was herself, was when she actually ran away from the gang in the apartment, before Carly stopped her. That was basically the last scene with 'completely normal' Sam. Ever since then, she's been given morphine in the ambulance, anesthesia during the surgery, and painkillers during her recovery. One of the main side effects of all those types of drugs is that they can alter a person's personality. I've been purposely messing around with Sam's feelings as it's crucial in this story to show how tough of a time she's going through. This whole story deals about all aspects of appendicitis, including the recovery! And I wanted to show the effects of recovering from an appendectomy and how Sam needs her friends by her side during this difficult time of feeling sick and weird. I've even written out scenes that explains how Sam herself has started realizing that she's been acting abnormal and began trying to struggle back to her old personality, especially when talking to her friends! (but it's obviously not working as well as she wants it to xP). I've also written out scenes in which Carly and Freddie seemed to have notice the switch in her personality as well. So I have been aware of what I was doing to her as it fits in with the plotline of this story. Don't worry though! Once things start to go back to normal for her and the drugs are no longer needed, she WILL return back to her old, sharp tongued self. (Of course with a few revelations and meaningful memories---but still, Freddie will have to watch his back!) So to sum this up, Sam's not going to do a complete 180 with her personality. I hope you can understand why I've been writing her this way! I haven't lost sight of her characterization, nor am I tweaking her just for the sake of my own wants to make her fit certain scenes ( I'm tweaking her because of the drugs, because that's an actual detail of recovering from this type of surgery..)
I hope you guys understand what I've been trying to portray throughout these chapters! I hate when an author butchers a character's personality, and I just wanted to make sure all my readers know I've been doing this ON PURPOSE to Sam's character for the sake of accuracy! I really don't want anyone feeling bad about my story because they think I've started to veer off the path of proper characterization, because I truly haven't! Now when I have the drugs clear out of Sam's system completely, if some readers STILL think I'm writing her wrong, then yes, you may criticize that for the sake of of her characterization being butchered! But please understand that she's messed up in the head right now for a reason so she's going to act a bit different!
(Sorry for going off on a bit of a rant, but like I said before, I think characterization is an important aspect of a story --especially fanfiction-- and I just want to let my readers know why I'm writing certain things out in the story like this!) Now onto the next chapter!
'What did I ever do to deserve such an amazing friend?' Sam thought to herself as she began the task of changing herself. She realized Carly was racking up a lot of friend points these past few days, and knew she was going to have to let her friend cash in on that in the future. The blond girl couldn't help but chuckle as she thought about what Carly might say if she knew she was comparing their friendship to gambling. Sam smiled, knowing it probably wouldn't be anything good. Her smile faded though when she reached down to grab her shorts.
"Oh god..." Sam moaned as she continued to dress herself. Her incision was starting to throb in a harsher pain, and it was really starting to bother the girl. "Eh.." Sam huffed, trying to ignore the sensation. "I can deal with this junk as long as my head continues to clear up." She thought, starting to feel a bit better mentally. Once she was fully dressed in her gray t-shirt, black shorts, and gray socks, she stood up and looked in the mirror. "I still have to clean my cut.." She moaned, looking over at a bar of soap and hand towel next to the sink. With a sad sigh, she reluctantly turned around and pulled herself up to sit on top of the counter. "Bleh...that hurt.." Sam grit her teeth as she held her side. She then reached over to grab the hand towel and turned the faucet on to a warm setting. After wetting the small purple cloth for a second, she reluctantly rolled up her shirt and started to dab her skin.
'Man...Carly loves purple..' Sam thought to herself as she looked at the towel, trying to keep her mind off of the gash. As she reached over to grab the bar of soap, there was a soft knock. "Yeah?" Sam asked curiously as she wiped the soap off on the towel.
"You done changing?" Carly's voice asked softly.
"Yup." Sam replied casually as the door opened.
"That's good. Are you feeling any bett..." Carly stopped talking as she stood in the doorway. "Oh!" She stated, caught off guard as she realized her friend was cleaning out her wound. The girl quickly shook off the initial shock and tried not to be rude and stare. "Um..better? Are you f-feeling any better?" She stuttered. Sam couldn't help but smile.
"This bother you?" Sam asked quietly, removing the towel from her stomach.
"H-huh?" Carly asked, shocked to see her friend's surgery incision for the first time. She couldn't help but feel sympathetic for her friend as it looked painful.
"S'okay." Sam replied, covering it back up with the towel to clean it. "Freaks me out too. But at least you're not going to pass out like I was." She smiled back over at her best friend. "...or are you?" She added, realizing Carly hadn't moved.
"Oh uh, no it's ok!" The brunette girl replied shakily as she walked over to her friend.
"You don't have to put on a false act for me Carls.." Sam chuckled quietly. "You can go if you're uncomfortable."
"I'm not uncomfortable..." Carly stated slowly. "Why would you think that?"
"Well, your skin is paler than mine for one." Sam laughed. "And you look like you're going to be sick."
"No...I'm fine." Carly added.
"I dunno....seems our roles have reversed.." Sam stated thoughtfully as she continued to clean her gash.
"What?" Carly cocked an eyebrow.
"Oh nothing.." Sam shrugged. "It's just obvious that you're lying." She smiled back at her.
"Yeah, I guess it is." Carly finally admitted.
"You can seriously leave if you want to though." Sam replied. "I won't take any offense. The cut scared the heck out of me too, but I think I can deal now."
"Nah, I'll stay." Carly replied. While she was indeed a squeamish girl, she didn't mind staying by her friend's side.
"So....you think this'll scare Freddie?" Sam asked randomly as she finished wiping up her stomach.
"Huh?" Carly didn't expect her friend to ask such a question.
"If I whip this out while he's eating, do you think he'll choke?" Sam smiled over at her.
"You really are feeling better, aren't you?" Carly laughed.
"Yeah!" Sam replied happily. "I think that little episode in the shower was the final effect from that last dose of Vicodin!"
"Your painkiller?" Carly asked curiously as Sam's eyes widened for a moment.
"Oh, um yeah. I was a bit dizzy from them, but I think my body is adjusting to it now." The blond girl replied quickly, almost letting her words slip about the pill she skipped.
"Oh.." Carly replied. "Still, if you think the painkillers were making you dizzy, maybe you should go lie down just incase."
"Alright." Sam responded as she set the towel down and made a move to get off the counter. "Oh, ow.." She moaned, holding her side as she slid off and stood up.
"Are you ok?" Carly asked, noticing her friend's discomfort.
"Yeah yeah, just a bit of pain." Sam waved her off.
"Oh, well, do you want to take an extra pill of Vicodin? The doctor said to increase the intake to two pills if you still feel some pain."
"No, that's alright!" Sam quickly answered. That was the last thing she wanted. "I'll feel fine once I lay down." She smiled. "Although, I do have to put a new bandage on my stomach."
"I think Spencer has them downstairs." Carly replied as the two walked out of the bathroom.
The girls eventually made their way to the living room via the elevator. There was no way Sam was going to attempt the stairs just yet. As soon as the big metal door slid open, the girls noticed Spencer was sitting at the computer apparently looking at various car parts on ebay. As soon as he heard the elevator noise, he swiveled around in his chair.
"Hey guys! How was your shower?"
"Oh...um fine." Sam replied, not adding the part where she almost passed out and had to be dragged out by her friend.
"That's good." Spencer smiled.
"Do you have any bandages?" Carly cut in. "Sam needs to put a new one on."
"Yup! Right here!" Spencer got off his seat and walked over to a bag on the counter and pulled out a box of gauze.
"Ok, well I'm just going to go over to the fridge and um, look at food and uh stuff.." Carly quickly exclaimed walking into the kitchen.
"Huh?" Spencer looked at his sister curiously before back to Sam. "What's her deal?"
"She's just a bit squeamish about my incision." Sam answered.
"Oh, heh.." Spencer chuckled as he got the bandage ready. "Carly always was weak kneed about things like this."
"You know I can still hear you guys right?" Carly stated, poking her head out from the fridge.
"Well it's true! You'd faint at the sight of a papercut." Spencer called back. Carly just rolled her eyes and looked back into the fridge. Spencer then chuckled as he glanced back over at Sam. "Alrighty, now let's get this bandage on."
"You sure? I mean, my cut is a bit freaky..." Sam stated awkwardly, knowing it had made both her and her best friend feel a bit sick.
"It's no problem. I have nerves of steel." Spencer smiled, flexing one of his arms.
"Kay.." Sam replied as she lifted her shirt up slightly, revealing the gash to him. There was a short moment of silence. "Spence?"
"Guh..." His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell backwards and passed out humorously on the floor.
"SPENCER!" Sam cried out, looking down at the sprawled out man laying on his back.
"Huh?" Carly poked her head out from the fridge once more. "What happened?!"
"Mr. Nerves of Steel fainted!" Sam exclaimed, pointing to him on the ground.
"Oh man.." Carly moaned, seeing her brother laying on the floor.
"Is he going to be ok?" Sam asked, lightly tapping his knee with the tip of her foot. He made no signs of any movement.
"Yeah.." Carly sighed as she walked over and bent down next to him. Sam cocked her eyebrow as she watched her best friend lean down towards Spencer's ear and take a deep breath. "WAKE UP!"
"WHUAH!" Spencer instantly sat up. "Where am I?!" He cried out, looking in all different directions.
'Suddenly I don't feel so bad about the shower..' Sam tried to keep herself from laughing. Out of the three of them, who would have figured that it was going to be the male adult who'd faint instead of the teenage girls.
"C'mon..." Carly stated softly as she helped her brother back up.
"What happened..?" Spencer asked weakly as he stood up, rubbing his head.
"You fainted. Nice job." Sam replied flatly as she walked over to him and grabbed the bandage from his hand. She turned her back towards the two squeamish Shays and pulled up her shirt once more to fix the gauze herself. After a short moment, she slid her shirt back down and turned around.
"Sorry." Spencer stated sheepishly.
"Nah, don't worry." Sam offered a small smile. She couldn't really berate someone for doing something that she almost did herself.
"Whew, alright." Spencer wiped off his forehead. "That was a rush." He laughed. "So how are you feeling?"
"Lots better." Sam smiled. Her mind was much more clear than before, and the only remnants of her sickness she felt was a small sleepy feeling. She was also glad that the extreme nausea and dizziness had gone away completely. Of course, it had been replaced with aching pain, but Sam didn't mind. All she could care about was that she was happy....and hungry. "Hey, do you think I can have some cereal?"
"You're hungry?" Spencer asked as the blond girl nodded. "Alright! What kind of cereal? We have Frosted Flakes, Coco Puffs, Rice Krispies..."
"Rice Krispies!" Sam smiled excitedly. Carly looked over at her, curious as to why she was so excited. "What?" Sam shrugged looking at her best friend. "I like the snap crackle pop!"
"Oh.." Carly laughed, humored by Sam's childish honesty.
"Ok, a bowl of Rice Krispies it is!" Spencer smiled. "You want any Carly?"
"Yeah, sure." She replied to her brother.
"Ok, two bowls of the good stuff, coming up!"
"Oh, and could you put some chopped bananas in it?" Sam quickly asked, making Spencer chuckle.
"Well, I see you do have your appetite back." He smiled at her. "Sure! Now to the kitchen I go!" He turned around and trotted over to his cabinets. 'I'm glad she's feeling better...' Spencer thought happily as he opened up his bowl cabinet and started to get things set.
"Why don't we go into the living room while Spencer fixes up breakfast?" Carly offered.
"Sounds good!" Sam agreed as they walked over to the couch. Carly sat down quickly and noticed that her best friend had to move slowly as she bent down, wincing the entire time.
"Still hurts?" The brunette girl asked cautiously, watching her friend take a few deep breaths as she finally sat down on the cushion. She looked like she was in quite a bit of pain.
"Oh um, yeah, but no big deal." Sam smiled over at her. Carly wasn't sure about the honesty of her words, but decided not to push it as she realized her best friend was acting a lot better than before. A few minutes passed until Spencer walked back into the living room, carrying two bowls in his hands.
"One for you.." He stated as he handed one over to his sister. "And one for you." He handed Sam hers.
"Thanks." Sam smiled, bringing the spoon up to her mouth and taking a bite. "Oh, how I've mitthed foood..." She replied, her mouth full.
"Mitthed?" Spencer asked his sister awkwardly.
"Missed." Carly replied before taking her own bite of cereal.
"Oh." Spencer chuckled.
A few minutes passed by now and the kids had finished up their cereal and flipped on the TV as their empty bowls sat against the table. Carly was currently sitting up on the left side of the couch while Sam was sitting in the middle. Her stomach was aching so much that it was starting to hurt with each breath, but despite this, the girl still felt well enough to hide the fact she didn't take her painkillers. Letting out a soft sigh, Sam noticed how tired she was and figured that if the pain was going to get any worse, falling asleep wouldn't be such a bad idea. Choking back her voice to keep from groaning, Sam slowly turned around on the couch and laid down on her back, resting her head on Carly's lap. The brunette girl looked down at her friend.
"Tired?" She asked.
"Yeah." Sam gave a small yawn. The blond girl noticed that if she laid still, the achy throbs wouldn't bother her that much. Plus she was feeling sleepy and decided there was no harm in relaxing for the moment, especially since things were calming down in her mind.
"Alright." Carly smiled down at her before looking back up, allowing her best friend to use her as a pillow. The TV hummed softly as Sam tilted her head towards the screen while the girls continued to watch various programs. It was now 7:56 am when there was a slight knock on the door. Both Carly and Sam looked over at it before glancing at each other.
"I don't suppose you're going to get that?" Carly asked jokingly as she looked down at her best friend in her lap.
"Nope." Sam smiled, looking up at her before taking a deep breath. Carly cocked her eyebrow, wondering why her best friend inhaled so deeply until she watched Sam open her mouth and yell. "SPENCER!" The blond girl cried out, making Carly jump a bit in surprise, not expecting such a blunt call. 'Oh ow..' Sam grit her teeth, forcing herself to avoid making a sound. 'Maybe I shouldn't have yelled...' She moaned in her head, noticing her stomach felt like it was on fire for that split second.
"WHAT? WHAT?!" Spencer bolted out of his room and looked around the living room before glancing at the two girls. "What's wrong?!" He asked worriedly, hearing Sam's scream. Just then another small knock on the door cut off his thoughts.
"Door." Sam replied quietly, smiling at him.
"Geeze! You could have given me a heart attack!" Spencer laughed as he walked over and unlatched the lock. He opened the door to reveal none other than... "Freddo!" Spencer smiled.
Freddie's back! But it looks as though the pain in Sam's abdomen is getting worse....
