Chapter 5- Staying Calm…Or Not
Jason moaned as he woke up. His eyes were still closed but he was able to hear the steady beeping of what he could only assume was a heart rate monitor. Opening his eyes, Jason realized that he was in fact correct. Jason recognized the room that he was in as a standard room in General Hospital. Looking next to him, he saw Sam curled up in the most awkward position in the chair by the bedside.
"Sam" he said, his voice scratchy and his throat sore.
She jerked awake, breathing in a sigh of relief when she noticed that he was awake.
"Jase, how are you feeling" she said, immediately shifting her position so that she was sitting on the edge of his bed.
"I hurt" he said, closing his eyes as he groaned while he felt his side with the bandages.
"The doctors said you would" she said putting a hand to his forehead to feel for a fever. "Looks like the fever broke" she said. "All you needed was the medication"
"Thank you" said Jason.
"For what?" she asked.
"For not listening to me. For taking me to the hospital even though I told you not to"
"I just want what's best for you Jase. And you dying and in pain is not what's best for you, nor is it something that I can handle very well"
"I'm sorry that I put you through that" he said in a sad and pained voice.
Sam couldn't help but laugh.
"What is it?" he asked, confused by her actions.
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to laugh at you. But god Jason, you always do this. You're so concerned about me that you don't think of yourself. You were shot by a man seeking revenge on me and you're apologizing for it! You're too kind and sweet" she said, controlling her laughter and becoming serious at the end.
"It's hard not to care about you Sam" he said softly, his hand reaching to push her hair behind her ear.
The two leaned in to kiss each other, but unfortunately, their moment was interrupted by a nurse walking in to take Jason's vitals and report back to the doctor that he was awake. Sam sighed as she had to pull away from Jason so that the overly bubbly nurse could work.
"That's why I hate hospitals" said Jason once she walked out.
"I second that" she agreed as she sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Now where were we?" she said, a seductive smile on her lips.
"Right here" whispered Jason as he leaned up to her and the two shared an intense and passionate kiss.
Of course, the two were interrupted, this time by Monica.
"Sorry to interrupt" she said. "But I am going to be Jason's new doctor. I hope that's ok"
"That's fine" said Jason as he laid back into the pillows and got comfortable again.
"I'm going to need to look at the wound and make sure it's healing properly. The infection has been all taken care of. You're just going to feel a little weak and out of it for the next few days" said Monica as she adjusted some of the monitors before sitting down in the stool next to Jason.
She gingerly pulled back the blankets so that his chest was uncovered and she pulled the hospital gown up enough so that she could get to the wound. Jason turned on his side to face Sam so that Monica could get to the bullet wound easier. Monica peeled off the bandage and looked at the extra hole in her son, sighing as she did. She cleaned the wound again and then rebandaged it. When she was finished, she looked up to see Jason holding Sam's hand, a pained expression on his face.
"Sorry, I know that when the wound gets cleaned out, it stings" said Monica.
"Its fine" said Jason, trying to act like his tough self.
Monica and Sam exchanged a look before Monica left the room again, instructing Jason to get some rest. Sam looked into his eyes as she brushed his hair off of his forehead and gently kissed him.
"I'll be back in a little bit" she said.
"Where are you going?" he asked, not wanting her to leave his side for even a minute.
"I'm going to get you something to eat from Kelly's. Hospital food is barely food, and I am taking care of you. And that includes not letting you eat gunk" she said matter-of-factually.
"Hurry back" he said reluctantly.
The truth was, he would have eaten hospital gunk if it meant never having Sam leave his side. But he knew that she would never go for that. She was too concerned about him.
Sam bent down and planted a sweet goodbye kiss on his lips.
"Don't move. Stay in bed" she instructed as she left.
"I love you" he whispered softly.
"I love you too" she replied before getting up and leaving.
Max had accompanied Sam to Kelly's, and although Jason felt that Max could have gone alone and left him his Sam, she had insisted on going. Truthfully, she needed time to breathe. Although she had forgiven Jason for everything, she was still confused about her emotions. She and Jason were always hot and cold. Whether it was her telling him that she hated and him and would never forgive him when they had lost Hope, or later on when he got shot and she threw herself at him, telling him that she would love him forever. But now, she was torn again. Jason was shot once more, and she had the chance to loose him again. And she couldn't do it. So she forgave him for the unforgivable again. Jason had a way of doing that to her.
Sam took a deep breath and continued her walk to Kelly's. Max was walking a few feet behind her. Unable to take the eerie quiet anymore, Sam turned around in an attempt to start up a conversation with the man. It was then that she noticed Max was no where in sight.
"Max?" she questioned, fear creeping into her voice.
"Sorry babe, it's just me" said Charlie as he walked out in front of her, a grin on his face.
The last sound heard was Sam's scream as Charlie dragged her away.
Jason shot up in bed. He didn't know what was wrong, but something was. He felt like he just had a terrible nightmare, but he couldn't remember what it was. Rubbing his face with his hands, he decided to try and get more sleep before Sam came back. Unfortunately, he was interrupted by Carly walking into the room.
"How you feeling?" she questioned as she sat down on the side of the bed.
"I've been better" he answered truthfully.
"Sonny told me why you got shot" she said in a spiteful tone.
"I don't want you starting with Sam" Jason said as the warning crept into his voice.
"Than she shouldn't have started with me!"
"She didn't!" Jason demanded.
"Yes, she did. She got my best friend shot. I consider that starting with me"
"This isn't her fault" Jason said loud and clear. "And stay out of it anyway Carly"
"Jason, I can't do that. You are my best friend, and you have helped me on more than one occasion. We all know that. So now, it is my turn to help you. I'm going to make sure that Sam stays out of your life" she said as the fire ignited in her eyes.
"Carly, you will not get involved" he said, getting frustrated with her. "I love Sam, more than you can ever imagine. And I know that you are still harboring this idea that Courtney and I should be together, but Carly, it's just not going to happen. Sam and I are together, and nothing is going to tear us apart. So please be nice to her, because I would hate to have to cut you out of my life"
"Are you threatening me Jason?" she asked with a look of disbelief plastered on to her face.
"No Carly, I'm warning you. Sam is my number one priority, and if you continue to mistreat her, than I will focus all my attentions on her, and you will be left in the cold" he said in an icier voice than he had intended.
"Fine, you know what. Forget that I even came here. Forget that I even cared how you were, and that I was worried about you. Michael wanted to come over and see his Uncle Jason, but I'll just let him know that you're too busy with your whore to see him" said a very angry Carly as she got up and left the room, slamming the door behind her.
"Wait! Carly!" yelled Jason after her, but his calls fell on deaf ears.
Jason let his anger get the best of him as he punched the bed. It was a low blow for Carly to threaten him with Michael. Along with Sam, that little boy meant the world to him. And Carly knew it. Jason couldn't understand why she wouldn't just leave him alone. Why she couldn't just leave him alone?
Sonny paced outside of Jason's room. He knew that the information he was going to give to his enforcer would be…problematic to say the least. But Max had returned to the hospital alone. And by ambulance. The man was getting stitches in his head and being treated for a pretty nasty concussion. And Samantha McCall was no where to be found. The whole town had already been turned upside down, but no Sam was located. Sonny knew that Jason would be out of that bed in a heart beat, looking for the woman that he loved. And while Sonny understood what it meant to want to protect the people that you love, he knew that he needed to protect his best friend as well. He needed to make sure that he was fully healed before he started searching for Sam. Cursing under his breath, Sonny sucked it up and walked into Jason's room.
"Hey baby" said Jason from the bed, his eyes still closed.
"Hi there Pumpkin?" tried Sonny with a smile, and Jason's eyes flew open, not seeing the person he was expecting to.
"You're not Sam" said Jason in a bashful tone as his face went red.
"No, I'm not" said Sonny as he sat in the chair by Jason's bedside.
"Where is she? It feels like she's been gone for hours" mumbled Jason.
"We need to talk Jase"
"Is it about business? Because Sam's going to be back any minute now…"
"No, she's not" said Sonny softly.
"What do you mean, 'no she's not'?" questioned Jason
"Sam's gone missing" said Sonny, a somber look on his face.
"What? That's impossible! Max was supposed to be watching her" said Jason. "I told him to watch her!"
"Max was knocked out. He was admitted to the hospital with a concussion"
"No, she can't be missing. Because we both know that if she was missing, it would be that crazy asshole Abdale. And we both know that he is unpredictable, and he wants to hurt her"
"I know"
"He doesn't want her for leverage. He wont hesitate to hurt her!" said Jason.
Sonny looked down at his feet. Jason hardly ever lost his cool, but he was completely panicked at this point. He was over the edge, past the line of logic, of reason, and of rational thought of any kind.
"Jason, we need to stay calm"
"No, we need to look for her!" he countered.
"We are. I have men scouring the city and the areas around. We will find her. But you need to stay calm. The last thing she needs is for you to aggravate your wound"
"I don't care about my wound! It's just one little bullet wound! I've been through worse, and worked through worse. It's fine. It's been taken care of. All that matters right now is that I get out of this stupid hospital and start looking for her!"
"Jase, stay here for a few minutes and think about it. In the meantime, I'll find someone to start on your paper work and then when I come back you can make the decision. Do you want to risk your own health and safety to be one of the dozens of men looking for her, or do you want to stay safe and leave it to the men? Just think about what she'd want for you" said Sonny as he left Jason's hospital room.
Jason groaned but attempted to get up the second the door shut and Sonny was gone. Clutching his side, he maneuvered his way out of the bed and grasped one of the machines next to the bed to hold himself up. The pain was intense; he wouldn't pretend that it wasn't. But it was hardly as intense as the pain he was feeling as he remembered why Sam wasn't at his side, scolding him for attempting to move. Abdale was crazy. He wouldn't hesitate to hurt her. He hit her in the past, and took advantage of her. What was to stop him from doing it again? What was to stop him from going even farther this time? Jason knew what he had to do. He needed to look for her. His small flesh wound didn't matter right now. What mattered was finding her. And no matter what Sonny said, he was the best man for the job. The best man for finding the woman that he loved. He had promised to protect her, and he was hell-bent on doing just that. Taking a deep breath, he started to pull his clothes on. He smiled when he realized that it wasn't the clothes he was taken to the hospital in. Leave it to Sam to bring him extra clothes. She was probably planning on breaking him out of the hospital once she found out that he would be ok.
Sonny walked back into the room a few minutes later and saw his fully dressed best friend.
"Sign here and here" said Sonny with a sigh as he pointed to specific places on the release forms.
"Sonny, come on. Don't you think I've signed GH release forms before?" he said with a smirk. "Now come on, let's get out of here. We need to find Sam, and we need to find her now"
A/N: More reviews will make me write quicker! I need to know that people want me to keep writing.