Stay With You

Chapter 5

Tim entered the hospital emergency bay, in full frantic mode. Despite Sascha's calm demeanor, he couldn't shake that there was something terribly wrong with Sam. His eyes searched the room as people filtered in and out, trying to find Sascha. When he spotted her in a corner, he hurried to her, finally seeing that the calmness that she had was just an act. She was scared.

He walked up to her and said her name softly, " Sash..."

"Daddy?" Sascha returned as he eyes finally let go of the streams that threatened to burst forward. " I tried . I called 911, I called you, I tried daddy."

Tim took his daughter into his arms and felt her release as she sobbed heavily. All the strength it took for her to react the way she did, had exhausted her. When she had quieted, Tim took her chin into his hand and lifted it gently. Looking into her deep brown eyes, he saw the fear as it swam in her.

" Sash, can you tell me what happened?"

She nodded and closed her eyes, then spoke, " I was just getting up from my nap, and I heard crying from upstairs. When I called out, no one returned, so I went upstairs. I went into your room first, then as I was going into the hall way , I saw her legs in the bathroom. Daddy, she was blue, like she couldn't breathe. If only I had checked the bathroom first..."

" Sash, you did good, honey. You kept calm and you called 911. You saved her life," Tim reassured her. His mind raced with questions, why would she be crying? Did this have anything to do with whatevershe had wanted to talk about? He shook the questions from his mind and focused back on Sascha. " How long have they been back there?"

" I don't know , maybe twenty minutes. Daddy, she's gotta be okay. You guys are supposed to be getting married this weekend," Sascha said almost tearfully. She had looked forward to this as much as her father had.

" She's going to be fine, Sash," Tim said as he took a seat. He anxiously eyed the door, hoping that the doctor would appear there, with good news.

S/S

" Martin, I just wanted to talk. We've always been able to talk..."

Sam slowly opened her eyes to see a doctor standing over her, with a concern look in his eye. She blinked furiously, trying to remember what had happened. The last she remembered, she was in the bathroom, on the floor, crying. Then darkness. The doctor saw her confused look and smiled warmly, then sat next to her.

" Ms. Spade, do you know where you are?"

" Uh, no," Sam replied as she brought her hand up to her head. She began to feel the effects of a blistering headache.

" You are in the hospital. Apparently, your stepdaughter found you on the floor," the doctor returned.

" On the floor? Why was I on the floor?"

" We'll according to your color when you got here, you weren't breathing properly. We didn't find anything that was obstructing your passage way, so we went ahead and administered oxygen. I took some blood to test, and ordered more to see just exactly what caused this, and I would like to keep you overnight to monitor you."

"Okay. Did the blood test come back?" Sam asked as she focused on the doctor. By the look he was giving her, she knew that it had.

" Yes they did. I wanted to give you the choice of telling your family," the doctor said as he got up.

" I would like to tell them."

The doctor smiled and nodded, " I'll go notify them that you are awake. I'm going to order a breathing treatment, so when the nurse comes back here, don't give her any trouble," the doctor said lightly before walking out of the room. Sam laid her head back onto the pillow thinking of a way to tell them. Was there a good way to let them know what she had been keeping from them?

S/S

Calleigh pulled up to the park to see Horatio and the girls as they walked to the slides. She beamed with happiness as she watched the girls skip around their father, laughing and smiling. She wouldn't trade this for anything.

Climbing out of the H3, she closed the door and set the alarm , walking quickly to join them. The freshness of the air rejuvenated Calleigh and she smiled even wider when she came to them.

" Mommy, mommy, you're back! Daddy let us play in the sand box," Livvy said as she danced around Horatio. Calleigh could see the tiny particles of sand that clung to her head. Horatio looked at his wife sheepishly as her smile dropped slightly.

" They never get to play in the sand," Horatio said in his defense.

" That's because the sand gets in their hair, and I have to wash it," Calleigh returned , trying to effect an air of anger. Inside she wanted to burst out laughing.

" Don't be mad mommy, I can wash my hair all by myself," Lizzy chimed in.

" Oh, you can, can you?" Calleigh asked as she bent to tickle her, sending her daughter into a fit of giggles. When she finished, she looked up at Horatio who had a pleasant yet strained look. "Girls, how about you play over there for a few more minutes."

The twins yelped and ran for the swings again as Calleigh turned her attention to her husband. Concern had seeped it's way back into her.

" I'm fine, before you ask," Horatio said. " How did the appointment go?"

Calleigh touched her abdomen lightly and smiled, " Fine. She said that my pressure was elevated slightly and she told me to lay off of the stress."

"Calleigh,..."

" No, Horatio, it's not your fault. Even before your accident, the girls were stressful enough. I just have to learn how to get over things and not let them bother me. I'm fine."

" I wish that there was something that I could do," Horatio said as he stood closer to her. She looked up into his clear blue eyes and put her hands on his face.

" There is something. Get well and stop blaming yourself. You are here with your family Horatio. We love you."

" I love you, and the girls," Horatio returned as he bent to kiss her lightly.

Calleigh smiled through the kiss, interrupting it's flow, " Good, because I expect some help washing their heads."

Horatio chuckled lightly and adverted his eyes, staring at his girls as they continued to play. Calleigh followed his gaze then broke the embrace, waving to them.

" Let's go, girls," Calleigh called.

"Awww mommy, do we have to?" the asked in unison.

" I've got to go to work and I still have to wash your hair. So , yes , you have to."

Trudging, they obeyed their mother and ran to them. As a family ,they walked to the H3 and got in. Life was sweet.

S/S

Tim saw the doctor as he walked through the door and spoke to the admitting nurse. He then sat up straight as he approached them , with a file in hand.

" Mr.Speedle?"

" Yes."

" I'm Dr. Jones. I attended to Samantha," Dr. Jones said as he glanced at Sascha, " And you must be Sascha. You did a wonderful job, Sascha. Your quick thinking helped saved Samantha's life."

" So , she's okay?" Tim asked nervously.

" When she got here, she wasn't breathing properly, so our first thought was to check her passage ways. Seeing that there was nothing preventing her from breathing, we administered oxygen without having to do any evasive procedures like a tracheotomy."

" Yes, doctor. But is she okay?" Tim asked again, almost becoming flustered.

" She's breathing fine, now Mr. Speedle. But I want to keep her overnight , just to make sure she's out of harms way. You can go see her now."

Tim thanked the doctor and then took Sascha by the hand. They had someone that they needed to see.

TBC...

A/N: I know, I know, but I have to go back to work. There'll be more later...