Love and Marriage
Chapter Sixteen

Danny sat with Sam in the waiting room, observing her behavior because there was really nothing else to do. They had been waiting for Martin to come out of surgery for about two hours now. He was amazed by how quickly she had arrived at the hospital and guessed that she had broken some traffic laws. He had offered to take Claire to his house and let her spend the night there but she had explained that Claire was already spending the night with one of her friends. So that made things easier. She wouldn't have to tell Claire anything until after the surgery was over and Martin was awake.

Sam had been pacing around the small room for the first hour until he finally had to force her to sit down. Now she was sitting in the chair with her legs crossed and her hands resting in her lap. She would twist her wedding band around her finger, occasionally taking it off and then slipping it back on again. Aside from the initial conversation they had when she arrived, she was completely silent, seemingly wrapped up in her own little world. He could tell that she was worried about Martin, and it was good to see that she still cared enough to worry.

So far he had only heard Martin's point of view concerning their marriage problems. While this probably wasn't the most ideal time or place, he couldn't help but feel the need to ask Sam some questions. "Sam? Can I ask you something?"

She looked over at him, considering the request for a moment. "I guess. What do you want to know?"

"What's happening between you and Martin?"

She sighed, somehow knowing that he was going to ask that. "I don't know. We just haven't been connecting lately. Every time we start to talk about our problems we end up fighting and nothing gets solved." She paused for a moment, unsure about whether or not to tell him more. Eventually she gave in. "I heard your conversation with him today."

Question marks filled his eyes as he struggled to understand. "How?"

"I was coming down to talk to Martin about something and I heard you two talking. I didn't mean to, but I know what you were talking about." She confessed.

Out of curiosity, he asked, "How much did you hear?"

"I stayed until I heard Martin tell you that he's not sure why we got married and that he's considering asking for a divorce." Her gaze shifted from Danny to the floor, unable to look her friend in the eye for fear of starting to cry.

It took Danny a moment to replay the talk with Martin in his head to find that part of the conversation. He soon realized that she left before the best part of the whole thing. "You mean you didn't stay to hear what he said after that?"

"No." She shook her head. "I wasn't brave enough to stay around for that but I can only imagine what it must've been." She wasn't sure she wanted to know what he said once she left because it might be painful to hear.

After thinking about whether or not to tell her what Martin told him, he finally decided she deserved to know. After all, she had already eavesdropped and heard the rest of it. She might as well have the last and best part of the conversation because right now she didn't have the whole picture. Knowing Sam, he would bet anything that she was thinking that her marriage was doomed based on the parts of the conversation she heard.

He would be doing both her and Martin a kind deed if he filled her in. "He said that he loves you and that he doubts he'd ever be able to go through with getting a divorce. That's the part that you missed."

She chuckled, really appreciating the fact that Danny was trying to make her feel better. "Thanks Danny, but you don't have to make stuff like that up."

"I'm not making it up." He didn't understand why she didn't believe him. "If you'd stayed around for a few more seconds you would have heard him say that."

"Yeah right." She shook her head dismissively.

"Sam, have I ever lied to you?" He asked, trying to get her to believe him.

"No." She replied, meeting his gaze. He seemed to be sincere and genuine, but it was hard to believe that Martin had said that. "I'd believe you this time, but the fact is that Martin hasn't said 'I love you' to me in months."

Months? Wow. Things were really bad. "Sam, he…" The doctor came in before Danny could finish what he was trying to say. He watched as Sam bolted from her chair and walked over to the doctor.

"Mrs. Fitzgerald?" The doctor guessed.

"Yes." Sam nodded.

"I'm Dr. Walters. I performed the surgery on your husband."

"How is he?" Sam asked impatiently.

"He's resting right now. He'll be fine." Dr. Walters smiled. "The bullet was lodged heavily in some tissue right below the knee. That's why it took us so long with the surgery. He's going to have some problems with mobility for a while, but he should be able to return to his normal active self in no time."

"That's good." Sam smiled, releasing the breath that she'd been holding ever since Danny told her about Martin.

"He's in Room 314 right now. You can go see him but he won't be awake for a while because of the anesthesia." Dr. Walters explained. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go check on another patient."

"Thank you." Sam called after the doctor. She then turned to Danny. "Thanks for staying here with me."

"It's no problem. You guys are like family to me. I had to make sure that everything was ok." He assured her.

"Well I guess you can go home to your other family now."

"Yeah. I will in a minute." Danny told her. "But first I just want to say one thing. I know it's none of my business to say anything about your relationship with Martin but when has that ever stopped me before? I'm not even going to pretend that I know what's going on between you two or what your problems are because I don't know any of that stuff. What I do know is that you two love each other. Whether or not you believe that, it's the truth. Even now, when you guys are having problems, I can still see that you love each other. I refuse to believe that a love like yours could simply evaporate one day."

A small grin formed. "Since when did Danny Taylor become such a romantic?"

"Since Danny Taylor met the woman of his dreams and married her." He smiled. "Just think about it, ok?"

"Ok." Sam nodded.

"I'll call Jack, and the rest of the team to let them know that Martin's ok for you." He offered.

"Thanks." She looked at him walk away and thought about what he said for a moment before heading to Martin's room. The room was silent, except for the sounds of the machines monitoring Martin's heart rate and other vital signs. As she sat in the chair next to his bed she watched his heart monitor, completely enthralled by the steadiness of his heartbeat. But then again he was a steady kind of person.

She couldn't stop thinking about what would have happened if he had been shot tonight and died. How would she move on from that? Would she even be able to move on from that? Although there were times when she considered getting a divorce, most of the time when she looked to her future she still saw him there. That had to mean something, right?

Her dream when she dozed off on the couch really spooked her. It made her think about what she would do if Martin got so tired of fighting and putting up with her that he decided to leave. That wasn't what she really wanted, but it was starting to look like it was a real possibility. They couldn't keep going on in the same way they were; it wasn't fair to them and it wasn't fair to Claire. She deserved to have the family that she had before the problems started; they deserved to be happy again.

She turned her attention to him, staring at the face that she had memorized a long time ago. She knew every line, every dimple, and every feature. Seeing him in the hospital bed, looking peaceful and happy, made her want to kiss him. The doctor had said that he'd be out of it for a while because of the anesthesia, so why not? He wouldn't remember it anyway.

On impulse, she leaned in and lightly pressed her lips to his. "I don't care how much we fight or what we've said to each other. I don't want to lose you." She grabbed a hold of his hand with hers, linking their fingers together and lightly stroking the back of his hand with her thumb.