A/N: Here is the Sam and Miguel scene I kept hinting at which I thought was so cute! I want to encourage everyone, even if each chapter doesn't feature your favorite pairing or character, to read them anyways with an open mind because it's all a part of a greater narrative, and I think when you have the inner monologue of each character you understand their actions a lot more, which is likely why certain characters rub us the wrong way on the show - because we don't get that explanation visually.
But that being said, I'm not forcing anyone to read anything! I'd rather you opt out of certain chapters than read something you don't like. So just a suggestion, take it or leave it :)
Miguel had got out of surgery a few hours ago, and now he was back to lying in the hospital bed, bored out of his mind.
He had been mindlessly watching sports on the TV in his room. After his surgery, his doctor came back and checked his nerve endings in his hands, feet, and legs. So far his upper body has mostly fully recovered, which the doctor said is a good sign that the surgery was successful in restoring his body mostly back to normal. When he checked his legs and feet though, Miguel felt nothing.
At first, Miguel tried not to have too many expectations for himself regarding his recovery, mostly for his own sake. He didn't want to be disappointed when the inevitable news about his condition came. No one has told him yet that he will never walk again, but he can sense it in everyone's timid behavior around him; their sugar-coated words; the complex language the doctor used to describe his current status.
Miguel looked outside the window of his room where his mom sat with his grandma. They were holding his Yaya's rosary beads while quietly whispering words to one another with their eyes closed. They each held onto one another's hand like it was their life support.
He shook his head silently, but Miguel was pissed. He could tell that the news following his surgery wasn't good, and it sucked that no one would tell him the truth. He would probably spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, and never do karate again.
Miguel swallowed a lump in his throat as he considered the possibility of never going back to doing what he loved.
His mom hated it when he asked about karate or Sensei, but they both became huge parts of his life that he wasn't willing to give up just yet. It stung that Sensei hasn't been here yet to visit him. Part of him was still pissed at his sensei for the outcome of the fight, but deep down, Miguel knew that Johnny wasn't to blame. He was still conflicted though; should he show mercy? Or do all paths lead him to becoming wheelchair bound? Sensei Lawrence managed to be there for him and guide him to make bold decisions to turn his life around the entire time he's known him, and yet, here he is now, desperately in need of guidance, and he hasn't bothered to show up.
He really hoped he had a good reason for it.
The knock on his door made Miguel turn his head towards the doorway. To his surprise, entering his room was Sam, carrying a platter of brownies. He smiled when he saw her, almost completely forgetting about his negative thoughts toward his current condition.
"Hi, I hope it's okay that I just walk in here. I was going to text you or something first, but I wasn't sure what time I would be able to come by until like 10 minutes before I had to leave so," Sam rambled.
Miguel smirked at her and took in her appearance. Previously visiting him, she had worn long sleeves so he couldn't see the scar on her arm. Now it was clear how deep the slice must have been to heal the way it did.
"That's alright, now is good. It's not like I'm going anywhere," he weakly joked.
"How did the surgery go? It was today right?" She asked.
"Yeah, it was today. It went well I guess, but they said they won't really know until further out when I start getting physical therapy and stuff. So, for now it just is what it is," he replied.
Sam nodded and tried to think of what to say to him. Things were a little awkward with neither of them knowing how to act around one another. "Well you're a fighter so I think you have it in you to pull through just fine. I, um, brought these for you," she held up the tray of brownies.
Miguel looked closer and saw that the brownies were placed in little cupcake liners that had octopus patterns on them. His face broke into a grin and Sam's face lit up when she saw his reaction.
"Awww look at those! I can't believe you found octopus cupcake liners," he said.
Sam laughed, "Well, I have been known to be pretty crafty on Amazon," she joked.
They both laughed, catching each other's eye for a lingering moment. Sam broke the trance, grabbing a brownie to offer Miguel.
Miguel accepted it and took a big bite. "As you can see," he said through a mouthful of brownie, "I am already feeding myself now," he laughed.
Sam giggled. "Wow, yes, I was just about to compliment how excellent your form is."
"Ha, thanks," he laughed.
"But seriously, Miguel, that's a big deal. It may seem small, but after what happened, even the little things are really amazing."
Miguel sighed, placing his brownie down for a second. "Yeah, I guess so. I don't know, it's weird, my whole life I feel like I've been trying to push myself harder to beat the odds. Every school I moved to, teachers put me in the lower level courses without even knowing me or what I could do, just because they assumed I was the Latino kid who didn't speak any English. So I fought to hide my accent, I made them put me in the upper level courses, and worked my butt off to prove to everyone that I was just as good as everyone else. Then with moving here, I had Kyler and those stupid guys giving me a hard time every day. I had to literally fight just to keep them off my back. Sensei Lawrence did a lot for me to teach me how to stand up for myself and not be pushed around," he swallowed, "And now I'm here. I have this horrible feeling like all the progress I fought to make in my life is just going to disappear. I'm starting over," he finished, looking down at the half-eaten brownie in his hand. He ran his finger over the crinkled octopus liner.
"Oh, Miguel." Sam listened to his words and her heart broke for him. During the time they were dating, she hadn't learned everything about his life before coming to West Valley. She knew he was getting bullied by some of the jerks at school, and that him and his mom were originally from Ecuador and had moved around a lot before coming here, but she didn't realize the impact that this all had on his life. He never complained, and she never asked. "You're not starting over. I mean, physically, it's going to take a lot of work to get back to where you once were, but this is just making you that much stronger. It sucks, don't get me wrong, it's not simple or easy or exciting in any way, but you're going to do it. And when you come back from this, you're going to be leaps and bounds ahead from where you were before; physically and mentally."
Sam looked at him genuinely in the eyes, hoping that her words meant something to him. He glanced up and caught her stare, holding it for a moment before looking down again. "Thanks, Sam. It means a lot to have your confidence in me," he looked up again and smiled at her with a small smile.
Sam got lost in their trance for a minute, softly smiling at each other. "Yeah, well, that's what friends are for, right?" Sam broke their trance, shyly tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
'Friends', Miguel thought. He was surprised by the disappointment he felt hearing her call them friends. He supposed he should've expected it. Technically neither of them had broken up with their significant others officially, but their kiss complicated things, and they never had a chance to talk about their feelings.
"Right, that's what friends are for," Miguel responded, trying to hide the disappointment from his voice. "These are really good brownies by the way," he said after a beat of silence.
Sam giggled. "They should be, I paid, like, 10 dollars for them," she admitted.
Miguel gawked, "What? You mean you didn't bake these? You just bought them and then placed them in these wrappers to make them look homemade," he mused, laughing at her.
Sam held her hands up in surrender, "Hey, I didn't have time to bake them! And besides, the presentation is worth, like, 50% of the points for effort," she defended herself.
He shook his head, "I'm just so disappointed in you, Sam. You know I really thought you cared about me," he joked.
"What? I do care about you—"
"— no, no, no, not enough to make me homemade brownies," he cut her off.
"Okay, fine, next time I'll bring homemade brownies," she conceded with a huff.
Miguel smirked, 'next time', he thought. He liked the idea of their visits becoming regular things. He was silent for a moment, and Sam realized what she implied with her words.
"Well, I mean, if you want me to come back," she clarified.
"I do, I'd like it a lot," he smiled at her. "Actually, I'm supposed to get out of here by the end of the week, so maybe next time we wouldn't have to be in a hospital."
"Oh that's great. Do you know when you will maybe be back at school?" She asked.
"I don't have a date set yet, but my mom and I were talking about maybe after a few physical therapy sessions, if I make enough progress, I might be able to return by the end of this month. I don't really want to need a nurse to come to school with me for things like going to the bathroom or taking notes and stuff, so I'm hoping that the surgery helped, and I will make a lot of progress by then," he said with his eyes fixed straight ahead as if he was looking towards his future.
"I think that's definitely possible," she nodded. "I had my first day back on Monday," she said, pushing another strand of hair behind her ear.
Miguel perked up, "You did? How was that?"
"Weird." She said simply. "I thought I was ready, but when I got back, everyone was staring at me, and then when I looked around, everything reminded me of what happened. It was like my brain started replaying all the events again. I would get hurt, you would fall, and Robby would run," her eyes welled up with tears. She stopped talking and bit her lip to try to contain her emotions.
Miguel reached out to her, now able to grasp her hand with his own. "I'm sorry Sam. You're not alone, though. I haven't been back to school yet, but when the nurses move me through the halls and we pass by the stairs or a railing —" he paused, swallowing the lump in his throat, "I tense up and it feels hard to breath. I have to close my eyes, but even then my mind just replays me falling over the railing, and that moment when I realized I was probably going to die," he sucked in a breath sharply, momentarily losing control of his breathing until Sam squeezed his hand back. He looked at her, and it brought him back. She held his hand, running her finger over the back of it as he slowly regained control of his breathing.
Silently, she shifted in her seat next to his bed so she could rest her head on his shoulder. The two held onto each other's hands like they were the only thing keeping them grounded.
A/N: I'm excited for you all to read the next chapter! It's one I've been playing over in my head a bunch and writing it out felt really good. Here's a hint: Robby + Sam + Communication
