Chapter Eighteen
Sam was listening intently to the President who stood at his desk, his hands resting on its surface. "The crofter discovered that the tide had eroded the sandbanks and had uncovered what appeared to be a small stone-built cairn or chamber. Upon further investigation he discovered that inside the chamber lay seventy eight chessmen carved from Walrus ivory. The crofter sold the chess men to the British Museum for £80, being a poor crofter he would have found this amount of money a virtual fortune as it would have taken him several years of hard labour to accumulate such funds." Bartlet looked up at Sam over his glasses. "Still with me?"
"Yes, sir," Sam answered although he was finding it hard to keep his eyes open.
"The chessmen depict various figures such as church dignitaries and Norse warriors of the period but sadly the collection came from a total of eight incomplete sets and the missing pieces have never been found. The skilled…" Bartlet stopped and reached out towards Sam. "Sam, what is it?"
"I don't know…it's tilting, the Oval Office is tilting…"
It had been an hour since Bartlet had arrived and slowly the small group had congregated in Sam's room. The nurses worked around them and Keel shook his head at the number of people in the room but made no attempt to make them move. Toby sat in the corner, his arms folded across his chest his gaze on Sam. Josh was by the window trying to focus on the traffic but being constantly pulled to the image of the heart monitor that was reflected in the window before him. CJ sat next to the President who was sitting with his hands clasped and his elbows resting on his knees. On either side of Sam's bed sat Michael and Diane. Bartlet walked over to the bed and stroked Sam's forehead. "Hold on, Sam."
"Hold on, Sam," Bartlet called but Sam was already on the floor being swirled away with a channel of water out of the office and down the West Wing corridors. He tried to grab hold of the doorframes as he passed them but he couldn't keep his grip. He passed Toby's office and managed to hook his fingers around the door. The water rushed over him, he choked and gagged and tried to raise his head. He cried out Toby's name but Toby was engrossed at his desk reading a newspaper. Sam called his name again and he lowered the paper and looked straight at him. "Fight!" Sam tried to tell Toby he was but the water was in his mouth and he couldn't speak. His fingers slipped off the doorframe as Toby turned back to his paper. The corridor was endless. As he passed the open doors he could see people working, ignoring him. The water lifted him so high he was pressed against the ceiling and he frantically turned his face to the side to draw a desperate breath.
It was Diane's cry of Sam's name that drew everyone's attention to the bed. Since they had arrived Sam hadn't moved. His eyes had only opened briefly and there was no indication that he was aware of who was with him. He had called out for Toby but apart from that had made no sound. His breathing had remained shallow and seemed to be getting shallower as the night wore on. His sudden movement startled Diane and her exclamation startled everyone else. Sam was moving, ever so slightly, but he was moving. His breathing was becoming harsher and more rapid. One hand grabbed the bedrail and the other pushed against the bed as if he was trying to push away from something. His head was turned to the side. It was Toby who slipped from the trance they all seemed to be in and reached past Michael to buzz for a nurse. CJ followed his example and left the room quickly to find Richard.
The water level suddenly dropped and Sam went spiralling down towards the floor. He tried to get his footing but the water returned and continued to carry him along. He could hear his dad calling to him, telling him to hang on but there was nothing to hang on to. A beam of light told him that he was heading for another doorway. He grabbed hold and tried to keep his head above the water. He could see Josh standing at his office window and called to him. He didn't turn around and so he called again. Josh walked over to the doorjamb folded his arms and leant against it. "I'm here, Sam. It's alright. I know you're fighting, you just need to hang on." Sam reached out but Josh turned away and returned to the window. There was no more light. Sam was drenched in water and darkness. He called uselessly for his dad and tried to listen for his voice but the sound of rushing water was too loud. He felt the walls of the corridor beside him and sensed they were closing in on him. The floor that he had been washed along ended abruptly but he managed to hang onto the ledge as his body dangled hopelessly over the bottomless cavern beneath him. The water was rushing directly onto his face and he choked as he tried to lift his head out of its path.
"Nice and easy, Sam, just relax, breath nice and slowly for me."
Although the words were comforting, Sam shook his head, "Can't…drowning …slipping…can't hold on."
He felt the fingers of his left hand slowly losing their grip. He swung his legs but there was nothing beneath the floor to gain any leverage on. He was tired. Too tired to hold on and he let his hand slip away from the ledge. His head was beneath the ledge now and being covered by the water that tumbled over it.
"Sam!" He was being shaken he could feel hands on him but it was too dark to see who was there. "Sam! Come on, Sam, open your eyes."
Sam could hear more voices calling to him and he tried desperately to pull himself up so he could see over the ledge. He managed to get a grip with his left hand and could just see the end of the corridor. The voices were clearer now and as he listened he could make out the people who were standing at the end of the tunnel. Toby, Josh, CJ and the President were all calling to him, telling him to fight, telling him to hold on. He couldn't see his mum or dad and called out their names and they replied, their voices closer than anyone else's. "Here, we're here, Sam. Open your eyes, we're right here."
Sam could feel their hands holding onto his. He tried desperately to help them to pull him over but he had nothing to give; his legs were dead weights dangling beneath him. He cried out then, begged his parents to help him and he felt their grip tighten. He could feel the hands holding onto him and he pulled and pulled in an effort to get over the ledge. He cried out again to tell them he was drowning. Again the pressure tightened. The water lapped at his chin. Sam managed to get one elbow onto the ledge. His mouth was filling with water. He could no longer breathe. His head was submerged and he felt himself slide away from the ledge. He was pulling against the hands now, trying to let go.
"Damn it, Sam, fight!"
The desperately shouted words pulled Sam upwards, out of the water, back to the ledge. He grabbed hold again and put everything he had into one final heave. His head came over the top of the ledge and he could see the hands that where holding his. He pulled on them again and was lifted, lifted away from the ledge, up and over it.
"Shush, shush, it's okay, honey." Sam's mum stroked his forehead and willed his unfocused gaze to find her. Sam was coughing and spluttering as if his mouth really was full of water. His hands were still held by his parents and he concentrated on the pressure until he could convince himself the ledge and the water was gone.
Keel entered the room followed by a nurse. He quickly started to assess Sam's condition and the nurse asked Diane and Michael to move away from the bed.
Josh wrapped his arms around his middle and stared at Sam. Everyone had been totally caught off guard by Sam's sudden movement and cries. They had watched him struggling to wake up, to come back to them, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that they had almost lost him. They were ushered out of the room and back into the corridor. Not a word was spoken. No one dared to tempt fate by saying what they all believed to be true. Sam had fought and won.
Richard looked more tired than CJ could remember seeing him as he emerged from Sam's room and walked over to the small group standing close by. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "They'll have to rewrite the medical books. Well, the chapter on strychnine poisoning at any rate. It's still too early to say for sure but it looks like Sam's going to pull through. His blood pressure has risen and his breathing has improved. He's lucid but exhausted." Keel looked up at the President. "He told me to tell you to go home, sir."
Bartlet smiled at that and shook his head. "Ron will be pleased."
"He's asleep now and I doubt he'll wake anytime soon but if you want to go back in, can I please ask that it's no more than two at a time."
His words were greeted with a chorus of earnest nods.
Sam woke an hour later. His eyes felt heavy and he listened to the sounds around him before opening them. He could hear words being whispered and then recognised CJ's voice. She sounded far away. The occasional sigh he could hear was nearer. He recognised it as his mother's and then felt the hand that held his, and the thumb that stroked soothingly across his wrist. The machines were still buzzing and whirring but they didn't frighten him now. He knew what they were and he knew he would be free of them. There was no noise from outside of his room and he guessed it was night or very early morning. From another corner of the room he could hear paper being rustled and realised that there were more people here than just his mum and CJ. Sam was aware of a gentle tapping sound that punctuated the silence every so often. It was wondering about this sound and its origins that finally made him open his eyes.
The light of dawn was creeping above the buildings Sam could see through the window. In front of the window sat Michael and the President. It was Michael's move and he was looking down at the chessboard frowning while Bartlet sat with his arms folded, a knowing smile on his face. Sam slowly turned his head to the next occupant of the room. Toby had been the cause of the paper rustling a few moments ago and as Sam watched him he struggled again to turn a page without making too much noise. He pulled a pen from his pocket and started to study the crossword. Sam's eyes closed again. He was beyond exhausted and the simple act of focusing on who was in his room was already tiring him out. He forced his eyes open again and looked over the end of his bed where CJ sat next to Richard. She was asleep and her head rested against his shoulder.
Finally, Sam turned towards the other side of the room and saw Josh. He was standing at the window that looked out onto the corridor. His hands were in his pockets and his forehead rested against the cool glass. He turned around slowly and glanced at Sam. For the first time in a few hours, Sam had moved and although his eyes were closed his head was turned towards Josh. He walked softly over to the bed and sat opposite Diane.
"Sam? Are you awake? Can you hear me?"
Sam fought against the desirable pull of sleep and opened his eyes again. He couldn't remember much about the last few hours but he knew he'd had some sort of battle and it was a battle that his friends had helped him to win. He had brief glimpses of a tunnel, water, falling and his friends' voices calling to him, pulling him back. He looked up at Josh and smiled. "Made it," he said, almost a whisper.
"Yeah, Sam, you made it." Josh smiled and then laughed as he gently took Sam's hand. "You made it."
Bartlet left the hospital soon after Sam had fallen asleep. He sneaked out through the housekeeping department just before the sunrise turned into the first full glow of morning light. CJ left not long after him and Josh and Toby shared a knowing smile when Richard was spotted leaving the staff room a few seconds later. Michael and Diane decided to go home for a while and return later in the morning. Josh and Toby stayed. They sat on either side of Sam's bed as they had done so many times before during the past weeks.
Josh was nodding off when Sam first stirred. He felt Sam's hand move beneath his own and sat up straighter in his seat, blinking rapidly to dispel his blurred vision. "Hey!" He leant forward and waited for Sam's eyes to open.
Sam opened his mouth to say hey back but all that came out was a croak. Toby leaned over for some water but put it down again and carefully raised the head of the bed before reaching for the cup again and placing it in Sam's hand. It was soon clear that Sam wasn't going to have the strength to lift the cup let alone the coordination to get it to his lips so Toby lifted it for him. He took a long sip of the water, coughed, took another one and then turned away to indicate he was done.
"Everyone gone?" Sam asked. His eyes darted around the room. He thought back to whom he had seen in his room but wondered now if he had imagined it.
"Your mom and dad have gone back to their hotels for a while. CJ's gone to work and the President-"
"He was here," Sam interrupted. "I thought I saw him when…thought he was here."
"We were all here, Sam. All night," Josh added.
Sam was battling to keep his eyes open. "I know you were. I heard you calling me." His eyes closed. Josh and Toby stared across the bed at each other. They didn't talk about what Sam had said, or try to explain it. They had witnessed Sam fighting and coming back to them, now they knew they had helped Sam win.
"Actually it's a pink ribbon but we'll let that slide. What I'm saying is that while I like a nice teddy bear as much as the next man, I don't think having one in my office is going to fly."
"It could sit in the corner, under your desk, you could put it on top of-"
"Dad! Will you just put the teddy aside for the children's unit and stop talking to me." Sam rolled over so that he was facing away from his dad who was busy sorting out Sam's presents and cards now that he was due to go home. "I've been very ill and you should be treating me with kid gloves not confronting me with homeless teddy bears."
Michael smiled as he placed the bear by the window and finished piling some cards up before walking over to the bed. Sam had turned away in mock annoyance but once facing away from the sunlight and Michael's movement was quickly starting to doze off. It had been three weeks since Michael had sat all night by Sam's bed surrounded by his son's friends. Sam's recovery was painfully slow but every day he was getting stronger.
At first, Dr Keel had insisted that Sam had few visitors. After the initial euphoria at him so obviously turning the corner in his illness had faded, everyone had to accept that there was still a long way to go. Sam slept for most of the time and when he did wake he was lucid but often too drowsy to do much else than say a few words before succumbing once more to his body's need for sleep.
His short term memory problems were obvious but Dr Keel's assurances that they would disappear in time made them easier to cope with. Josh and Toby visited in the early evening. CJ tended to visit in the afternoon. Sam's parents visited frequently. Sam was aware of the new understanding that they seemed to have and relished the occasional visits where the two found themselves at his bedside at the same time.
Sam didn't talk about what had happened to any of his visitors. He wasn't interested in the man who had been imprisoned for poisoning him and killing nine other people. Josh understood this perhaps more than any of the others. He remembered feeling numb when he was told about the Rosslyn shooters and knew that if Sam wasn't ready to hear it then there was no point trying to get him to talk. There was plenty of time for Sam to talk, Josh decided. All he had to concentrate on for now was getting better. So Josh continued to visit, read the sports reports and fill Sam in on what was going on at work and wait, determined that when Sam did want to talk he would be there to listen.