The reviews have been so great! You guys actually thought that I would kill Laura, please, I could never do such a thing. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, keep 'em coming! There are only two chapters left, so keep reviewing!
Chapter Nine
The Important Things
It was only when Janet realized that Jack was going to the collapsing building just past the Mexican border with or without her that she agreed to go with him. The man had hobbled halfway out of the building before she realized that he was serious, causing her to wonder why she hadn't realized this before; of course Jack was serious about going to get both Sam and his wife, who no doubt had the same idea. He had walked through nearly ten feet of snow to New York so walking to a collapsing building with a broken leg was nothing.
However, Janet wouldn't have excepted that Jason, who was suffering from a not too severe skull fracture, would have demanded to come with them. And no amount of arguing from both her and Jack had been able to convince him that his plan was a very bad idea, given his circumstances.
And so, Janet was still trying to figure out exactly what had happened as she drove one of the government issued sand colored Jeeps over the bridge that had been built across the Rio Grande. Jack was sitting in the passenger seat beside her, broken leg on the dash, crutches propped up wherever there was available space and Jason was sprawled out in the backseat.
"Jack," Janet began, looking at the man out of the corner of her eye. "What exactly are you planning on doing when we get to Sam?" She was almost afraid to hear the answer.
Jack wasn't quite sure just what he planned on doing; with a broken leg he couldn't exactly make it through the rubble and debris that surely blocked most of the entrances of the mall. "I'm making this up as I go." He answered, no trace of humor in his voice.
From the backseat of the car, Jason sighed, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. "That's very comforting, boss."
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Once the novelty of being an engaged woman had worn off, Laura's mind began to turn toward the more pressing matters at hand, like the fact that both she and Sam had head injuries, that she was slowly bleeding to death and that they were still stuck in the building that was falling apart around them. And, on top of feeling like her whole body was collapsing itself, she was starting to notice that Sam was looking worse and worse with every passing second.
As though sensing her thoughts, the building around them groaned and shook slightly, causing the floors overhead to grate against one another, threatening to crumble. Laura's eyes left Sam's face and gazed upward, ignoring the steady pain in the back of her head. When the building grew silent once more, her eyes found his again. "What are we going to do, Sam?" She questioned, not trusting herself to stand.
Sam took her hand and held it tightly, kissing her knuckles. "Get the hell out of here." He answered, without a trace of humor in his words. He looked at Laura, brow knitted with worry. "Can you walk?" He asked the same question of himself, not surprised when he didn't get an answer.
Laura took a deep breath; what would happen if she couldn't stand? They couldn't stay in this building until help came or until it collapsed, she wouldn't let Sam do that. "There's only one way to find out." She mumbled, not quite sure that he even heard her.
Sam got to his feet slowly, wrapping his fingers around twisted rebar to help pull himself up; the floor spun, threatening to come out from under him and he closed his eyes, regretting letting Laura out of his sight even for a moment. When he opened them again, the floor was only slanted slightly and he remained upright, head pounding and beads of sweat and blood trickling down his cheeks. Sam let go of the rebar and extended his hand, intent on helping Laura to her feet. And then what? His mind questioned. What are you going to do once you're both standing? Do you really think that she can make it out of the building the way you came in? Can you? Sam didn't really want to answer those questions just yet.
Laura took his hand, her palm damp with sweat and blood from the cuts caused by the rubble and debris and closed her eyes as well, forcing herself to stand, heart hammering in her chest, anticipating the pain that the action would cause. As soon as she was on her feet, her back felt like it was being stuck with a fire-iron and her head screamed in pain, increasing the pain in the rest of her body. Laura cried out and her knees buckled, and she allowed herself to drop to the ground once more, letting go of Sam's hand and keeping her eyes shut tightly, biting onto her tongue to keep from crying out again.
Sam knelt down beside her instantly, ignoring the pounding in his own head, and took her in his arms. Laura pressed her face against his chest, unable to do anything more then let him hold her. He kissed the crown of her head, feeling his heart being torn to pieces at the thought of the woman he loved in so much pain; he wished that there was something he could do to keep her from hurting, wished he could take away the pain that she felt. For a moment, Laura just shivered in his arms, sniffing quietly, almost to herself, with her eyes closed, trying to force away some of the hurt in her body but it seemed impossible.
"I'm sorry Sam." Laura mumbled finally, taking a deep breath and opening her eyes slowly.
"Sorry?" Sam repeated, incredulously. "For what?" He stared at her with a mixture of concern and disbelief on his face. What could his beautiful Laura possibly have to be sorry about.
Laura didn't answer, didn't know how to put what she was feeling into words; she couldn't stand, she could barely move, and because of that they weren't going to be able to get out of the building. The building was going collapse, that was inevitable, and Sam was going to die because he wouldn't leave her. He was going to die and it was going to be her fault. But how could she tell him that?
Instead, Laura took another deep breath, as though attempting to collect herself and looked up at him. "You should go." She said, her voice wavering slightly even though she wished that it wouldn't. "Get help and I'll stay right here."
Sam shook his head. "Laura, I'm not going to leave without you." He said, his voice solid despite the fear and unease that was coursing through his body. "There's no way that I'm going to leave you here alone." Laura was watching him closely with her round eyes, glassy with unshed tears. "We'll think of something, someway to get out of here."
Laura nodded slowly, slightly because of the pain in her head and wished that she could believe him.
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The entrance that Sam and Brian had used to enter the building hours ago had been caved in during the last, miniature aftershock, forcing Brian and his group of survivors to find another way out. Together, he and Elsa managed to force open one of the storeroom doors on the lobby level just enough so that they could squeeze through and finally be free of the collapsing building.
Brian made sure he was the last to leave, keeping the door forced open just in case Sam and Laura made it to the lobby once again. Elsa stood beside him, watching him silently, as his eyes remained on the inside of the mall, searching for something he doubted he would see.
"Are you sure about this?" Elsa questioned suddenly, her voice soft and low. Her words caught Brian by surprise and he tore his gaze away, looking over at her. "You sure you want to leave him?"
Brian didn't answer, his gaze returning to the collapsing building in front of him. He hoped that Sam was all right and that he would get to see his friend again.
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Sam thought about lifting Laura, but didn't want to take the chance of his own legs giving out and hurting her even more. He didn't even know if he had the strength to stand again, let alone carry Laura as well. He was running out of options and time, judging by the way the building shook and creaked more frequently now.
Laura remained silent, watching him closely, every-so-often demanding that he leave and come back with help; Sam had gotten to the point where he didn't even respond to her feeble commands and so she had just given up. She knew that he would never leave her anyway, no matter how often she asked him to.
The building shook and rumbled as another aftershock rocked the ground; Sam stopped his search for something to help him move Laura and dropped to his knees beside her, wrapping his arms around her protectively. The shock was over just as quickly as it had come on and Laura knew that, while the aftershocks weren't lasting as long, they were just as strong as they had been before. The floors above collapsed upon each other, filling the building with an angry grinding sound as the floors crashed into each other, sending debris showering to the levels below. Laura held onto Sam tightly, as though that act alone would protect them from the rubble that would come falling down.
Even after the shaking had ended, rubble continued to shower down from the levels above, covering Sam and Laura with a thin level of grit and plaster. Sam lifted his head once the building had become silent, his eyes once again adjusting to the dim light; holes had begun to develop in the walls and ceiling, letting a faint amount of sunlight leak into the building. But the light was growing darker with every passing minute and he knew that the sun was beginning to go down, that it would be even more difficult to find a way out of the building in absolute darkness.
Sam once again got to his feet, slowly walking away from where he had propped Laura up was gently and comfortably as possible with both of their jackets, taking measured, careful steps so he didn't trip or force the pain in his head to grow worse. He knew that his search was growing even more fruitless, that, even though he was in a mall, he couldn't find anything to carry Laura in.
Laura squinted her eyes in the darkness, letting out a slow and measured breath, leaning her pounding, bleeding head against the fleece of Sam's pullover; she couldn't see Sam anymore, something that worried her and caused her heartbeat to speed up. She hated not being able to be with him, to make sure that he was safe, to have to wait until he came back to her. But she barely had the energy to lift her head anymore, let alone get to her feet, regardless of the sharp pain in her head and back. Laura knew that she was getting worse, that she was slowly dying no matter what Sam did and that knowledge panicked her. She couldn't die now, not after everything she and Sam had been through.
Forcing her mind to ignore the heaviness of her body, Laura looked down at her engagement ring, visible despite the dim light. Every time she looked at the ring, she loved Sam even more; she was getting married! It seemed so surreal, but so natural at the same time. Sam was the only person she wanted to be with and that was the only thing that mattered.
Laura was still studying her engagement ring when Sam returned, a look of despair on his face. "I can't find anything." He muttered and she looked up, brow knitting. "Laura," he seemed absolutely helpless. "I don't know what to do."
"You should go." Laura said again, kissing him when he knelt down beside her. "Go and get help."
Sam kissed her forehead and looked her in the eye. "I am not going to leave without you." He promised and Laura's eyes filled with tears. "I love you and we're going to find a way out of here together."
"I love you too." Laura whispered, kissing him again and resting her head against his shoulder. Too much to let you die for me, she thought but didn't say, closing her eyes and trying to pretend that she was somewhere far away, where both she and Sam were safe.
Sam remained silent for a moment, listening to the sound of Laura's heavy breathing as she lay against him, trying to think of just how far it was to the lobby. Would it be too far for him to carry Laura? But with the recent aftershocks there was no telling how the topography of the building would have changed; could they even still make it to the bottom level? What about the broken staircase he and Brian had climbed up hours ago, was it still even attached to the upper level?
None of that seemed to matter anymore; Sam knew that he was out of options, it was either leave Laura, carry her or both of them stay until somebody came for them. The first was out of the question, the latter seemed unlikely and he knew that they didn't have time for him to sit around and debate whether or not he could carry Laura over unknown obstacles to the bottom level.
Sam pulled away from Laura, regretting having to do so and standing up once again. Without a word to her, he turned and headed in the direction he figured he and Brian had come from when they had first entered the building hours ago. Laura watched him disappear again, knowing that something inside of his mind had clicked and he possibly had a plan. She hoped it was a good one because she didn't want to be left behind anymore then he wanted to leave her.
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When Sam returned, there was a slight smile on his face; Laura looked at him hopefully, and he noticed right away that her skin was growing even more pale and waxy and her eyes were losing their shine. This was their last chance, he knew that now, because she wasn't going to last long enough for him to think of something else. "I think I've figured something out." Sam said as he knelt in front of Laura once again. He slipped one arm around her shoulders.
"Sam," Laura was looking at him with as much curiosity and worry as she could muster. "What are you doing?" But she already knew the answer to her question: he was going to try and carry her and whether he realized it or not, or even cared, he was going to hurt himself even worse.
Sam didn't answer, just lifted her gently, enabling himself to slip his other arm beneath her knees. Laura put her hand on his shoulder. "Stop, Sam." She commanded with as much force as she could and he looked at her with worry in his eyes. "You're going to hurt yourself."
"I don't care baby." He said, kissing her cheek. "We can't stay here forever; you need a doctor." And so did he, for that matter.
Laura felt tears sting her eyes and she quickly blinked them away. "Sam, I am not going to let you hurt yourself even more." She said, her voice wavering. She tried to pull away from him but moving hurt too much and she sighed, remaining in his arms.
Sam felt Laura's words tug at his heart and he was reminded once again of just how much he loved her. He forced himself to smile as he said, "Baby, you can't even walk. I doubt that you could stop me." Laura stared at him and he could see that her heart was breaking at the thought of him being hurt. Well, he felt that same way about her. "I'll be okay." He promised. "And when we're out of here, you can take of me." Laura couldn't help but smile slightly at that.
Sam took Laura's smile as a sign that she wasn't going to try and keep him from attempting to save her life. Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes and slowly forced himself to his feet, feeling his legs shake as though they were made of loose rubber as the floor seemed to drop out from beneath him for a moment. He tightened his grip on Laura to keep from dropping her, even though she weighed close to nothing in his arms, and prayed that his head would stop pounding and the dizziness would fade.
"Sam?" Laura's voice shook with worry as she spoke his name, watching him through tear-filled eyes. Despite how gently he had lifted her, her head still burned with pain and her back didn't feel much better and she wished that he would just set her down again so that she could give up and rid her body of the pain in her head. And if she died, then Sam wouldn't have anything to keep him from leaving the building, from being safe. Listen to yourself, Laura thought, do you really think that Sam would just leave you if you died? Would you leave him?
Sam opened his eyes again, looking at Laura's beautiful, worried face. "I'm fine." He forced himself to mumble, though he felt anything but. "Are you all right? Did I hurt you?"
Laura forced herself to lie as well, slipping her arms around Sam's next and holding onto him tightly, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. The sooner they got out of this building, the better, then they could both get the help they needed and get on with the rest of their lives.
Taking another deep breath, Sam turned around slowly, watching his face carefully to make sure that he didn't slip on anything, toward the direction that he had gone moments earlier. He had found the stairwell that he and Brian had gone up earlier, still hanging loosely to the level he and Laura were on now, with the debris cluttered lobby below them. Sam knew that if he could make it down the broken staircase, then getting out of the building would be much easier.
Slowly, he started in that direction, holding Laura tightly against his chest; she rested her bleeding head in the crook of his shoulder, whispering weakly how much she loved him. Hearing how exhausted and weak she sounded made Sam want to quicken his pace, to get out of the building and get her the help that she desperately needed even more then he already did. But hurrying would make him careless and carelessness would lead to an accident and neither of them could risk an accident.
Laura's eyes were fluttering, as she tried to force them to stay open and Sam carefully quickened his pace, navigating in the dim light through the piles of debris that threatened to trip him if he didn't watch them carefully. Even if he hadn't believed it before, even if he denied it with everything in his body, he knew now that Laura was dying and that time was even shorter then he had first believed.
Thankfully, the stairwell came into view, though Sam knew that he was posed with yet another problem; how was he supposed to get Laura down the crumbling stairs? If she could wrap her arms around his neck, he could somehow shimmy down with her on his back. "Laura," Sam said, feeling that familiar burning in his heart as he waited for her to open her eyes. She finally fixed him with her beautiful doe-brown eyes and he let loose a quiet sigh of relief. "Do you think you could get onto my back?" His legs were getting weaker, his head filled with nothing but pain, everything dark and dizzy at the same time. Just a while longer, Sam continued telling himself, just a while longer...
Laura nodded dutifully and forced herself to stand for a moment, ignoring her burning back and pounding head, until Sam bent slightly so that she could slip onto his back. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, hanging weakly while Sam slowly starting descending the crumbling staircase on his stomach. She rested her cheek against his, enjoying how he felt behind her, his steady breathing, pounding heart and warm skin. "I love you Sam." Laura told him, feeling as though saying it was the most important thing she had ever done. She wanted him to know, without a doubt, that he had been the only person she ever loved, just in case she didn't get the chance to tell him later.
"Ditto." Sam said, quoting one of the most famous scenes from one of Laura's favorite movies. Whenever he replied in that manner, it always made her smile and he could tell that now was no exception, that Laura managed to smile weakly even now. "We're almost there, just hang out." Sam didn't know if he was assuring her, or himself.
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The fact that one of Jack's crutches knocked Janet in the forehead just as she neared the collapsing building at the same time Lucy and J.D. arrived in Lucy's own sand-colored Jeep caused the accident. The front ends of the Jeeps crashed into each other with enough force to nearly send Jason tumbling off the backseat and everyone else slamming into their seatbelts.
Jack felt like he was suffering from whiplash when the Jeep snapped to a complete stop, causing him to knock back against his seat with a groan. "What the hell...?" He mumbled, peering out the windshield and into the front of the second car. He wasn't at all surprised to see Lucy behind the wheel.
Lucy groaned as she unbuckled her seatbelt, rolling her eyes when she saw Jack grinning wirily at her from the front seat of the other car. She should have known that he was going to find a way to get to Sam. J.D. was muttered something as he climbed out of the passenger seat, rolling his neck and wrists, as though they had been somehow damaged in what couldn't even really be called an accident.
Jack pushed his own door open with one of his crutches and hopped out, managing to keep his footing until he got both crutches on the ground. He hobbled over to Lucy, who was standing by the driver's side door and casually inspecting the front of the Jeep. She focused her gaze on him. "What are you doing here, Jack? You have a broken leg." Though it wasn't as though he needed any reminding.
"I came looking for you. And Sam." Jack answered. "Figured I'd better stop you before you hurt yourself." He smiled slightly.
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Right." She muttered. "And who was supposed to stop you from killing yourself?" She questioned before waving her hand dismissively. "Never mind." She studied her husband closely. "So, what's your brilliant plan this time, Jack?"
Jack's wiry grin returned. "I haven't really gotten that far yet." He told her. "I was hoping that you'd have the plan this time."
Lucy shook her head, rolling her eyes. "You never change, Jack Hall."
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Sam's feet had just touched the ground when another aftershock began, rattling the building with more strength then the previous ones, sending debris and rubble raining down from the collapsing floors above. He could tell that this was the one that was going to destroy the building, that the mall couldn't take anymore shakes.
The floors above that hadn't already collapsed were giving way down, chunks of plaster and cement dropping to the floor around them. He and Laura needed to find some sort of shelter before it got much worse, otherwise they might not have to worry about whether it would be better to have beef or chicken at their wedding.
Laura slowly lifted her head off Sam's shoulder, half-closed eyes looking around. "What's going on?" She questioned, eyes growing wide when she saw a chunk of floor from above crash into the staircase they had just come down.
"Aftershock." Sam answered quickly as he backed away from the staircase, which slamming into the ground seconds later. His eyes quickly searched for something that would provide cover from the falling debris. Sam's eyes settled on one of the benches that he had noticed hours earlier and he headed in that direction; it wouldn't be much, but it was better then standing out in the open.
Sam gently helped Laura slip off his shoulders and made sure she was beneath the low, cream-colored bench before sliding in beside her, seconds before a large chunk of plaster landed where he had been standing.
Laura pulled Sam closer to her, pressing her face against his chest as the ground shook beneath them, feeling as though it was going to tear itself apart before the aftershock finished. Pieces of the floors above landed on the wooden slats of the bench, which somehow managed to hold, splinting slightly but keeping the debris from landing on them. Sam wrapped his arms around Laura's waist, holding her tightly and wishing that the aftershock would end before the entire building fell down on top of them.
But, as the building continued to collapse, that seemed highly unlikely.
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Lucy had stopped Sam's best friend, Brian Parks, out of the corner of her just as the aftershock started. She braced herself against the side of the Jeep, holding tightly to Jack's hand as he did the same, standing beside her and struggling to keep his footing. Brian looked around, panicked, for something to hold onto and could see the rest of the survivors from the mall doing the same; the doctor held tightly to her twin boys, who clung just as tightly to her legs.
Brian stepped away from the building, fearing that pieces of it might come falling on top of them and saw Elsa doing the same, heading toward the two Jeeps that were parked a few feet from the entrance to the mall. When he looked closer, he could see that Jack and Lucy Hall had braced themselves against the side of one of the Jeeps and he felt instantly relieved; help had finally come. He just hoped that it wasn't too late for Sam.
Jack gripped Lucy's hand tightly, knowing that they were thinking the same thing: the building in front of them couldn't withstand another aftershock, it was falling to pieces before their eyes and their baby boy, their Sam, was still inside. Lucy squeezed her eyes shut and pursed her lips, hoping that Sam wasn't in the building anymore. Please, please, let him be okay.
It seemed like years before the aftershock finally groaned to an end, the earth shuddering for the last time before everything grew eerily silent once again. The silence was only broken by the twisting and groaning coming from inside the building.
Lucy's eyes snapped open instantly and she started toward the building; Jack's grip on her hand forced her to stop and whirl around the face him. "What are you doing?" She questioned, trying to pull away. "Sam's in there."
"I know." Jack said, his voice even despite the pounding of his heart. "But you can't go in there. The building is still falling apart."
Lucy glared at him. "So you're just going to stand here?" She jerked her hand lose. "Stand here while Sam is still inside, hurt?"
"Damn-it, Lucy, no." Jack began, trailing off when his eyes settled on Brian, who was looking around worriedly, as though he expected the aftershock to return. Maybe Sam hadn't been inside the building after all, maybe he had been outside with Brian. He shouted the boy's name and Brian turned in his direction, hurrying over when he saw who had called him. "Brian, where's Sam? Is he with you?"
Brian shook his head, brow knitting. "No, he stayed inside." He answered, telling the Halls what had happened after they had found Laura as quickly as he could.
Lucy's eyes narrowed when he had finished speaking. "Goddamn-it, Brian," she hissed with as much fever as she'd had when she'd spoken to her husband. "How could you just let him stay in that building? You should have done something." She forced herself to remain under control; shouting at Brian wouldn't solve anything.
Brian didn't know how to respond, couldn't find the right words because he knew that there were none, knew that he should have forced Sam to come with him, forced his friend to leave the building. Now he was probably dead and he hadn't done anything to stop it from happening. "Dr. Hall, I'm-" He began, stopping when he saw that Lucy's eyes weren't on him anymore, but looking past him.
Lucy's eyes went wide as her hand fluttered up to her chin, fingers pressing against her lips. "Sam." She whispered breathlessly, tears filling her eyes.
At her words, both Jack and Brian turned quickly in the direction she was staring, with Jack nearly losing his footing as he struggled to see what had captivated his wife. Sam had emerged from the spot that Brian and the others had come from only moments ago, bleeding and covered with dirt and white dust from the plaster, holding Laura in his arms. For a moment, Jack couldn't believe what he was seeing, forced himself to realize that this wasn't a dream, that he was indeed watching his son struggle to put one foot in front of the other, carrying the woman he loved carefully in his arms.
"Oh Sam." Lucy whispered again, voice a little louder this time, hoarse with emotion as tears slipped from her eyes and down her cheeks. For a brief moment, she allowed her eyes to settle on Laura, checking to see if the girl was alive but she was too dirty and bloody to tell for sure, before she gazed up at her son again. Her precious, only son was alive and she felt like a huge burden had been lifted from her heart.
Jack managed to hobble toward his son without the aid of his crutches and Lucy and Brain followed quickly; Sam smiled faintly at them when they reached him. "She's alive." He said, looking down at Laura with tears in his eyes and a slight smile on his lips.
Sam managed to slip Laura gently into his father's arms before he felt his knees give way, dropping him to the ground below. His vision grew dizzy, growing darker by the second but he didn't fight it this time. Laura was alive, she was safe, they both were, and those were the important things. That was all that mattered.