A/N: Again, thank you sooo much for your great reviews! It really makes my day if I get home from school (yeah, school's still in session over here) and get to read your reviews. You make me really really happy (and you make me laugh. Thanks for wanting me to write the seasons premiere, but I think Jerry Bruckheimer's going to do a better job :))

You said you liked fluff, so I'm going to write more fluff (that is if Martin and Sam get to talk to each other).

Dedicated to:berta101, missusmesser, bdoney, fairygurl621 and lapmal

Chapter 4

An anxious hour of waiting later Sam was still lying on the chairs, Danny was sitting with his eyes closed and Jack was pacing the floor. All of them were growing more and more worried with every minute that passed. Danny finally opened his eyes to look around. When he saw that Samantha was awake he said "Hey," with a small, reassuring smile.

"Hey," she replied, trying to force a smile as well. The fear in her eyes betrayed her true feelings.

Danny got up and walked over to her, sitting on the chair next to hers and stroking her back with his hand. "Everything will be OK," he assured her. "Martin's strong. I'm sure he will be fine."

Samantha looked at him in disbelief. "How can you say that? How can you be so sure"

"Because...," Danny hesitated. He thought about the things Martin had told him to tell the others. But the pleading look in Samantha's eyes prevented him from saying anything. What she needed right know was hope, not Martin's goodbye. He could still tell her if Martin really... The thought made him shiver. He couldn't let himself think it. Martin would be OK. He had to be. For Sam. "Because I know he would never leave you," he finally managed to finish his sentence.

Fresh tears started filling Samantha's eyes, but he knew hearing this had given her hope. Maybe it was just a tiny bit, but right now she needed everything that he could manage to give to her.

Danny turned at the sound of footsteps coming towards the waiting area and stopping there. When he looked up he saw a doctor standing in front of him. He got up immediately, nearly knocked over by Sam who had shot up from her lying position in a second. Jack quickly walked over to join them.

"Are you here for Martin Fitzgerald?" The doctor asked.

"Yes. How is he?" Danny asked quickly. Samantha seemed to be too scared to speak. She was just staring at the man in front of her, preparing herself for the worst.

"Are you related to him?"

"No, but I don't think that's important right now, just tell us-" Danny started impatiently.

"I'm sorry but it is important. I'm sorry but I'm only allowed to tell his family about his condition." The doctor replied.

Danny was getting extremely angry now. He pointed a finger at the doctor's chest and said through clenched teeth "Listen, if you don't tell us how Martin is immediately I'm going to break your fucking-"

Jack stepped between the two of them, shooting Danny a warning glance. He then turned to face the doctor and said "Doctor, we're with the FBI. We need to know how he is, it's important to solve our case."

The doctor didn't seem to believe Jack, so he got his badge out and showed it to him. "Are you going to tell us now? Or do you want to call the office to confirm our story?" Jack barely managed to control his emotions.

Finally the doctor seemed to be convinced, he actually he looked slightly scared. "Well, we managed to remove the bullets, but they've done severe damage. The one in his chest luckily missed his lung and heart, but it hit an artery and he lost a lot of blood. The bullet which hit his stomach hit his spleen and we had to remove it. He will be able to live without it, what's worse is that it also went through his liver. We also had to remove a part of it."

Jack looked stunned, the emotion mirrored on Danny's face, but Samantha was hopeful.

"So, he's okay? Can we go see him?"

Her face dropped rapidly as she saw the expression on his face. "Well, as I just told you, he lost a lot of blood and he flatlined three times on the way to the hospital and while in the ER. The shocking plus the surgery would have been a huge strain on his body if he hadn't been shot and with two bullets hitting him... "

"Wait, you're not telling me that he's... I mean he didn't... He's- he's still alive, isn't he?" Samantha's voice cracked. No. It couldn't be true. Martin was still alive.

"He's not dead." Danny and Jack sighed with relief, but Samantha still watched the doctor closely. She knew he hadn't told them everything yet.

"But?"

"Well... he's in a coma." Jack covered his face with his hands and Danny looked stunned. Samantha still stared at the doctor.

"But he will wake up? I mean he... he probably wakes up soon and then everything will be-"

"I'm sorry to shatter your hopes but it's a little bit more difficult than that. With the strain on his body from the various injuries and his many heart failures, it is hard to tell if he will wake up again. As it stands, the next 24 hours are crucial. Should he not wake up during that time it is unlikely that he ever will. Quite possibly, his condition will deteriorate and his heart will fail again. After what he's been through, that would be fatal. I'm very sorry."

While the doctor spoke, Samantha desperately tried to stay positive. The whole medical stuff he had explained... She didn't know anything about that. So it couldn't destroy her hopes. But now, hearing that it was still possible, no, not just possible, that it was likely that Martin wouldn't make it through the night was just too much.

Samantha stumbled backwards, grabbing the wall for support and collapsing on a chair. She buried her face in her hands, unable to face the doctor or the sterile hospital atmosphere any longer. When she felt a hand on her knee she looked up to find Danny kneeling down in front of her.

There was no expression on her face. He watched her closely, searching for any signs of pain or fear or at least any emotion, but there was nothing. Just emptiness.

When she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper. "You said he wouldn't leave me. But now it looks like he is leaving me." Danny wanted to say something, but she interrupted him. "And you know what? I understand that he doesn't want to be with me. My whole life is a mess, it's totally screwed up. His life was great, but then I ruined everything. Now he's lying in there, probably dying, and it's all my fault."

Danny didn't know what to say. She really seemed to believe what she had just said.

"It's not your fault that Martin was shot. Don't you dare say that. And I know he would never leave you."

Sam snorted. "Oh, really? Didn't you hear what the doctor just said?"

"I heard him, but he didn't say that Martin will die. He's in critical condition, but he still has a chance. Don't give up on him. Because he didn't give up on you either."

Sam looked at him quizzically.

"He loves you. He told me right before the ambulance arrived. He wanted you to know. But I told him to tell you himself. And he will. I know he will."

At first Danny thought she would laugh at him because she didn't seem to believe a word of what he'd just told her. But then, as she slowly began to realize that he wouldn't just make something like this up, tears started rolling down her face. "Oh God, Danny... I'm... I'm so sorry... I don't know what's wrong with me... I just... " Her voice cracked.

"Hey there's nothing to be sorry about." When she started sobbing he leaned forward and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back and murmuring "Shhh, it's okay... it's okay..."

Finally, her sobs turned to sniffles and then stopped altogether. Looking up, she saw the doctor standing several feet away, still conversing with Jack. Sam got up and walked over to him.

"Can we go see him?"

"Well... I'm sorry to tell you but..." The doctor hesitated. He had seen her breakdown and didn't know how to tell her. "You're not family so..."

"What do you mean? Only his family is allowed to see him?"

"Yes."

"Who invented the damn rules in this fucking hospital!" Sam stormed.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you in."

"His family lives in D.C., they won't manage to be here anytime soon, and you said it's possible that he won't make it through the night! You want him to die alone!" She was getting more and more angry.

"There are rules in this hospital, no matter if you like them or not. And I am not allowed to break the rules. I am sorry." He turned to leave, but Samantha stopped him.

"Wait-" She didn't really know what else she could say to convince him to let her go and see Martin. But suddenly an idea came to her mind. The doctor waited for her to continue.

"I am his fiancée. Is that close enough?"

Jack looked at her in shock. Danny didn't know what to think. He knew they had been together for several months now, and obviously they loved each other, but none of them had ever mentioned being engaged.

The doctor was surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry, I... I didn't know. Of course you can go see him. Follow me. I'll take you to his room."

Samantha turned around to look at Danny. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it, saying "Tell us when he wakes up. We'll be here."

When she turned around she saw Jack smiling. "Yeah, we will be here if you need us." He gave her a quick hug, something she wasn't expecting. In reality, he wanted to ask her thousands of questions. Had she told the doctor the truth about her and Martin being engaged? He hadn't suspected their relationship to be that serious. But he knew it wasn't the right moment to ask about it.

Finally Samantha turned around and followed the doctor down the corridor. They passed several doors, endless white walls and a few nurses, all looking at her with sympathy. The thoughts in her mind were spinning madly. She didn't know what to expect. She didn't know how to react if she saw him lying there, helpless. She didn't know-

"We're here." She stopped thinking about all the horrible possibilities and tried to focus on what the doctor was saying. "I think I don't need to tell you that he needs all the rest possible. I know you want him to wake up, but don't try to force him. He has to wake up on his own. OK?"

Samantha just nodded. She couldn't speak. Her throat was dry. She put one hand on the door handle, suddenly unsure if she should go in. What if he really died while she was in there? She didn't know if she could stand it. The doctor gave her a reassuring nod, then left. She was alone now.

Slowly, she pushed the door handle down, stepping into the dimly lit room.

A/N: There were a few passages about the others not being allowed to see Martin. I don't know if it's really like that in American hospitals, but in Germany there are such rules. Even if it's not true I hope it doesn't detract from the story too much.

Edited 08/11/09