Sorry about my delay in updating everyone. I was out of town for a few days plus I've been working on a One Tree Hill story that got me a little side-tracked. I was kind of rushing when I wrote this chapter so hopefully it won't suck too badly. Enjoy and thanks for all of the great reviews. Please keep them coming!

CHAPTER FOUR

The Next Morning

Sam awoke to a violent shaking. A strange and unfamiliar ceiling hovered above her causing panic to sweep through her nerves. Her worst fear of reliving the Northridge earthquake coursed through her and Sam stiffened every muscle in an attempt to still her quaking body. For a moment, she even thought she heard her father's voice, "Sam. Sam, wake up." She finally opened her eyes to see Carter standing over the bed she was sleeping on with his hand on her shoulder, rocking her back and forth. "Sam, they changed rehearsals this morning. I have to be there by eight ."

"Umm hmm, okay," she mumbled while attempting to roll over again before Carter caught her shoulder.

"Sam. Don't fall back to sleep because I won't be here to wake you up. You said your train leaves at ten this morning?"

Rubbing her eyes, Sam tried to focus on the question, "Yeah, something like that ."

"Well I might be able to cut out for a little while to see you off."

"Carter, don't be ridiculous. I can make it to the train station perfectly fine on my own."

"Are you sure?"

Sam rolled her eyes, "Yes Carter, I'm sure. Now go before you're late."

"Okay, but call me later so that I know you got in okay."

"Yes dad." Sam replied smartly.

Carter hollered over his shoulder as he left the room, "Just humor me, all right?"

Sam stared at the ceiling while listening to the sound of the door opening followed by the sound of it closing. The silence that remained was deafening. In a matter of hours she would be back in New Jersey with, in all probability, Austin standing right in front of her. Sam knew that he loved her and that he wasn't going to let her just walk away from him, but she wondered what his ultimate decision would be. The answer to that question was already hovering in her brain though because Austin was born to do the right thing and he would not leave his baby. Sam would never ask him to either.

As Sam continued to stare at the ceiling, contemplating whether to climb out from the warmth that her blankets provided, she stretched her legs until her feet hit something hard. Looking down at the end of the bed, Sam saw Princess Fattypus at her feet, laying on her back and curled into a semi-circle. The top of her head was against the mattress so she was looking at Sam upside down with big, round, innocent eyes. Sam sat up and began rubbing the cat's stomach to which Princess Fattypus started purring and wiggling like a big furry fish out of water.

Finally, after a few more minutes, Sam knew she couldn't put it off any longer and forced herself to get up. Even though she had only gotten about three hours sleep, there was too much running through her brain now to get any more. By the time she had taken a shower Sam still had about an hour and a half before she had to be at the train station so, since she was in New York City after all, she headed out for some serious speed shopping. After taking a very quick scenic tour through Central Park down 65th street , Sam found herself in front of Bergdorf Goodman on 5th Avenue and just as she was walking through the front doors she slammed smack into someone, her forehead colliding with an extremely hard chin. "Ow," Sam moaned as she held her forehead and waited for the stars to clear. She was still staring at the ground trying to get her eyes to focus when she heard a familiar voice.

"Sam, is that you?"

Sam's head shot up so quickly, it caused more stars to circle around in her eyes but she had to see if it was really him. "Ryan? Oh my God, Ryan!" Sam reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck so tightly she thought she would leave marks on his skin. "What are you doing here?"

Ryan pulled back and looked at her a little strangely, "I go to school here remember?"

Sam smiled sheepishly, "Oh yeah, right . So NYU is around here somewhere?"

"Um, well no. It's at the other end of the city actually but I have an off-campus apartment a few blocks from here and I was shopping for a birthday present for my sister." Ryan held up a bag he held in his right hand.

Sam couldn't resist hugging him again, "It's so good to see you!"

Ryan returned her hug lightly, "You too," he said before looking into her face again. "So what are you doing here?"

Sam hesitated. She didn't know how she was going to explain this to people but she knew it was only a matter of time before everyone started asking. "Um, I came to see Carter. It's … it's a long story."

Ryan looked hurt, "You came to see Carter but not me?"

"No Ryan, it's not like that . It was a last minute trip crammed into a very limited amount of time. I got in last night at 9:30 and I have to leave in like an hour. If it were planned, you know I would've come to see you."

"Sure," Ryan replied disbelievingly.

"Come on Ryan. You know I would have."

Ryan laughed at her, "Yeah I know." He looked at his watch before continuing, "Well you have some time now and my apartment isn't far away," he gestured down the block with his left hand. "Why don't you come over and we can catch up a little?"

Sam then looked at her own watch, "Um, I'm not sure if I'll have enough time Ryan."

"Come on," he pleaded. "We can warm up a little, I'll show you around my place and then you'll be off."

As Sam watched her breath turn to smoke when it hit the cold air, the idea of getting warm was very comforting. "Well okay, but just for a little while."

Ryan led her back up 5th Avenue for a couple of blocks before turning left on West 59th Street. He started to climb a set of stairs to a building that overlooked the south end of Central Park when Sam stopped him, "This is it?" Ryan just nodded as he put his key in the front door. "Sheesh Ryan," Sam looked up at the large brownstone with three, four-foot high arched windows before turning around again to look at the park behind them. "This is gorgeous."

"Well it's home," Ryan replied as they climbed the three flights of stairs to his apartment . He showed Sam through the two moderately sized bedrooms, the bathroom, and then the kitchen until they ended up in the living room. Sam was just lowering herself to the couch while Ryan was about to sit in a nearby armchair when he finally asked the question, "So, how's Austin?"

It took about a minute before Sam even made a sound and then it was only a strangled sob. When her lip began to quiver, Sam covered her face with her hands and then completely broke down. "I … I … "

In a panic, Ryan rushed to the couch and fell to his knees in front of Sam. He grabbed her hands and held them in his, "Sam what happened?"

"Ryan …" Sam's breathing started to accelerate rapidly and her chest began heaving up and down. "I … I … I …"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Ryan placed his hands on the sides of Sam's face, "Sam honey, breathe okay? You're going to hyperventilate so try and calm down." He smoothed her hair out of her face as Sam tried to take a deep breath. Slowly, her breathing began to steady and she looked up at him with tear soaked cheeks. Ryan wiped her tears away with his thumbs, "Are you okay?" Sam barely nodded. "Okay, well keep breathing. I'm going to get you some hot tea. I'll be right back."

In a matter of minutes, Ryan had returned with a steaming mug in his hands that he gave to Sam. She held it between her shaking palms as she raised the mug to her lips and Ryan kept one hand underneath just in case she lost her grip. The hot liquid immediately soothed her nerves and further calmed her breathing. Sam took another sip before lowering the mug to her lap and Ryan returned to his knees on the floor in front of her. He looked at her sympathetically, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sam inhaled deeply. She wasn't sure whether she did want to talk about it or where to begin even though there really wasn't much to tell. Finally, she shakily released the air she had been holding in her lungs, "Do you remember the end of summer party in August?" Ryan nodded in response. "Well … um, apparently Austin slept with Shelby and now she's pregnant."

"What?" In confirmation of his astonishment, Sam just nodded and closed her eyes tightly causing more tears to spill down her cheeks. "Oh my God. Sam, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault Ryan." Sam looked up at him with heavy eyes, the combination of her lack of sleep and the hot tea taking a toll on her.

"Maybe not , but I was at that party. There may have been something I could have done if I was paying attention."

"Don't be silly Ryan. If anyone's to blame it's me."

"Sam, how could this be your fault?"

She swallowed the remaining liquid from the mug then handed it to Ryan. Wiping the tears from her face with her fingertips, Sam explained with bitterness more at herself than anyone, "Because I wouldn't sleep with him. Actually, we almost did that night until Rhonda came home but before that I wasn't ready. That's what I get for being so selfish I guess."

Ryan grabbed her hands in his and forced her to meet his eyes. "Sam, I don't want to ever hear you say something like that again. You not being ready to sleep with Austin or with anyone is not selfish. That is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. It's a decision you need to make for yourself and live with for the rest of your life. You cannot let anyone push you into it . Plus, you not sleeping with Austin is not the reason he went and slept with Shelby. I don't know why he did it but I can guarantee you that it would've happened even if you had already slept with him. It's in a person's nature Sam.

"Yeah maybe," Sam replied. Even though what he said made sense, it did little to make her feel any better.

Ryan watched her fight to keep her eyes open. He grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and spoke to her softly. "Sam honey, why don't you lie down and get some sleep."

Sam felt the hand on her shoulder gently push her over until she was lying on her side on the couch. Although her body was winning the battle, her brain was attempting a fight even as she was snuggling into the couch pillow, "Ummm … no. I need … I need to go … "

"Don't worry Sam." He watched as she sank further into the cushions, giving into the sleep that was overtaking her. "You'll get home." Ryan lowered his voice to a whisper, "But not before the time is right ." Once he was sure that Sam was asleep, Ryan started for the kitchen with her empty mug in his hands before the ringing of her cell phone stopped him. Frantically searching Sam's coat pockets, he finally found the offensive noisemaker and held his hand over it so that the ringing couldn't be heard. As he looked down at the caller ID, Ryan saw what he expected, 'Austin Cell'. He smiled contentedly and spoke quietly to the object in his hand, "No, no. Not now honey. It's not time yet ."

Later That Night

Austin looked nervously at his shoelaces while running his hands over his shirt to smooth the wrinkles he had neglected to iron out . It was seven pm and nearly twenty-four hours had passed since his life had taken a complete one hundred and eighty degree turn. Sam still hadn't answered any of his calls to her cell phone or her dorm so here he stood, facing his moment of truth outside of her room, trying to muster up enough courage to make himself knock on the thick wood in front of him.

Austin's nervousness was stemming from a few factors – was Sam even going to be on the other side of that door? If she was there, would she let him in? If she did let him in, what was he going to say to her? In the end, it didn't matter though and he knew that. The only thing that mattered to him right now was that she was all right. Once he knew that for sure, then he could figure out a way, if there was one, to fix what had happened.

With a deep breath, Austin raised his right hand to gently knock on the door in front of him and didn't look up from his shoelaces until the door finally opened almost a minute later. It was then that he saw Tasha standing on the other side of the threshold and his heart dropped to his knees. After swallowing the lump in his throat, Austin finally spoke, "Oh hey Tasha. Is Sam here?"

The girl's cheeks reddened as she answered him. "Hi Austin. How are you?" He just smiled in response so she continued, "Um, no Sam's not here. I haven't seen her since yesterday just before she left for her last class."

That wasn't good. The panic started to return quickly and Austin tried to think of a way to get more information without divulging the fact that his life was in crisis. He ran his fingers through his hair while trying to sound casual, "Oh, well maybe she popped in while you were out somewhere."

"I don't think so. I got in around eleven last night and she wasn't here. She could've come home and left again before I got up but her bed doesn't looked slept in." Tasha motioned to the bed that sat about six feet behind her before continuing. "And I know she hasn't been back at all today because I've been here the whole time studying." Tasha paused and looked at him with concern. "Is something wrong?"

Austin's head shot up in response to her question. "What? Oh … uh … no, nothing's wrong. I, uh … I just needed … needed a phone number for a friend of ours. I'm pretty sure she has it in her address book." Well it wasn't a complete lie. Now that he still didn't know where Sam was, he definitely wanted to call as many people as he could to find out if they have heard from her, the first person being Carter. Since Austin didn't have Carter's number himself, he had to try and get it from Sam's address book. "Would you mind if I just grab her address book real quick?"

"Sure, come on in. Take whatever you want ." As she held the door open and stepped out of the way so Austin could enter the room, he began to understand why Sam wasn't all that fond of her. Anyone that wouldn't even hesitate to let someone else come in the room and take absolutely anything, wasn't someone he would really want as a friend.

Austin just walked by her and headed straight towards Sam's half of the room, hoping that Sam hadn't hidden her address book in some obscure place. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found it quickly in the center desk drawer. "Found it ." Austin held the small leather-bound book up in his hand and smiled politely at Tasha as he walked back to the door. "So thanks. I'll, uh, see you around."

"No problem. You know Austin," Tasha suddenly stopped him by placing her hand on his chest before he could pass through the door, "If there's ever anything I can do for you, I hope you know that you can always call me."

Austin's eyes lowered and followed the path that she traced down the center of his chest with her index finger, jumping back when it reached his belly button. "Well, uh … okay Tasha. Thanks a lot. That's um, that's really nice of you. I have to be going though." Austin quickly brushed past her before practically sprinting down the hallway. Tasha's actions reminded him a lot of Shelby and he suddenly felt nauseous but finally, he reached the stairwell and completely forgot about her. He needed to focus on finding Sam and he prayed to God that Carter would know something.

Austin flew down the stairs while simultaneously flipping to the 'F' section of the book in his hands and quickly found the entry for Farrell. When he was finally outside the dorm, Austin found the nearest bench and dialed the number written next to Carter's name.

"Hello?"

Austin took a deep breath, "Carter? It's Austin."

"Austin. What do you want?" Carter replied curtly.

Okay, so he knows. "Obviously you've talked to Sam," Austin said defeated.

"Yes, I have talked to her," Carter answered matter-of-factly.

Austin forced his eyes shut when he felt them start to burn, "Carter, look, I can't even imagine what you must think of me but, right now, I just need to talk to Sam. She won't answer my calls and I know that she's angry and upset and I'm probably the last person that she wants to talk to." He tried not to choke on his words as his voice started to crack, "Carter, I just need to know that she's safe. Have you seen her Carter? Do you know where she is?"

Carter listened quietly to the broken voice on the other end of the phone and a very small part of him actually felt badly for Austin. That was mainly because he was also worried about Sam. Her train was due back in New Jersey at eleven that morning and she was supposed to call him when she got in but she never did. It was now almost seven-thirty and she still hadn't called. That was not like Sam. Finally, even though there was also a part of him that wanted to let Austin suffer, Carter decided to tell him what he knew. "She came here last night , Austin."

"What? She's there with you?" A huge wave of relief began to spread through him until Carter's next words closed it off.

"No, she's not here with me now. She took a train here last night and she was scheduled to take the train back at ten this morning. It's only about an hour ride and she was supposed to call me but I still haven't heard from her."

Suddenly, all of Austin's worst nightmares started playing out in slow motion. There were flashes of Sam by herself, lost, cold and hungry while others were images of her lying in an alley somewhere badly beaten and raped. The worst were images of her lying dead somewhere and lost to him forever. Austin shook his head to clear his brain. If he let himself think that way and dwell on the worst , he wasn't going to be of any use to Sam. "Carter, I just talked to her roommate. She said Sam hasn't been there since yesterday afternoon." At this point, he couldn't keep the pools that had formed in his eyes from overflowing down his cheeks. "If she had been on that train this morning, don't you think she would've gone back to her dorm at some point , at least for a little while?"

"Probably. But even if she hadn't , she still would've called me because she knows I'm anal about that ."

Austin was trying to think as clearly as possible but it was getting harder by the second. "Okay, well did she say anything about going anywhere before her train left? Sightseeing or anything?"

"No she didn't . I woke her up to tell her that my rehearsals had been moved up and then I had to leave. Does she know anyone else in the city?"

"No, I don't think so." It took Austin a second before he remembered. "Wait, Ryan goes to NYU. Maybe she went to see him."

Austin stood up and took off in the direction of his dorm, "Carter, will you keep trying her phone? If she's going to answer it for anyone, it would be you. I'll call Ryan and see if he's heard from her then I'm catching the first train to New York."

"All right ," Carter answered. "Call me if you find out anything, okay?"

"Okay, and Carter?"

"Yeah?"

"You … you'll do the same, right?"

"Yeah Austin. I'll call you."