Title: Privilege

Author: NightMage

Rating: maybe PG13, to be safe.

Summary: The team gets very, very frustrated with doctor-patient privilege! And Sam deals with a problem of her own. My very first M/S fic. Please R&R!

NOTES:

I'll say it now, so as not to spoil the effect of the end of the chapter… at least, I hope the end of the chapter has an effect. I tried… anyway: REVIEWS APPRECIATED. Thank you, thank you very much.

I'm thinking… two more chapters after this. Maybe three, but I highly doubt it.

I am considering a sequel… maybe.

Anyway, you've all waited long enough (I like to think breathlessly, lol) and so here's the next chapter.

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Chapter 19
TURMOIL

Air. Oh God, Sam, breathe. Richard shifted slightly and she gasped for breath. If she could just –

A fist slammed into the side of her head and she nearly lost consciousness. His hands were moving, always moving, and she couldn't push him off. She couldn't get him off. Her ankle was going numb, it hurt so much. Her head throbbed in time to her heartbeat, and the combined sound they were making almost drowned out the screaming in her head. She needed help. Oh God, somebody please help her, because she was an FBI agent and this type of thing wasn't supposed to happen to her. She was strong, dammit. She was strong. But it hurt too much. Oh god, it hurt so much.

He laughed softly at her futile attempts to regain control, and leaned down until his mouth was right next to her ear. "Give up, bitch." He reached toward her.

Suddenly, he wasn't there. In a haze, she blinked. He was gone. Slowly, painfully, she turned her head.

Martin was there.

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Danny leapt forward. He smacked the gun out of Carolynn's hand just as it went off, and threw himself on top of the girl, trying to protect her with his body. He heard the terrible roar of the shot as it fired, heard the terrific crack that resulted, heard Carolynn's scream and Vivian's yell for backup. His wrist tingled and the back of his neck was stinging. His hands felt wet. For one horrible, horrible moment Danny thought it was blood. His blood. Carolynn's. Vivian's. Oh God. His ears were ringing.

And then Carolynn was crying, and she was alive, and he was alive, and Vivian was still calling for backup, and so she was alive. And the glass of water that had been sitting next to Carolynn was shattered, and Danny grinned, because there was water on his hands.

Danny moved back and helped Carolynn up, pulling her into a hug, ignoring the trickle of blood on his neck where a piece of the glass had hit him, ignoring the wrist he'd sprained when he landed wrong. And Carolynn was still crying, and Danny thought he might be crying too, as the sobbing girl rocked in his arms and whispered, "I'm pregnant."

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Relief rushed into Sam in waves, and she was too weak to be ashamed of feeling dependent on someone else. Martin had come. He always did, her mind whispered. Why had she never noticed that before?

Martin had slammed Richard back against the wall. Richard punched him in the stomach and jerked away. The two began raining blows on each other.

Sam got unsteadily to her feet. Concentrate. Focus, Sam. Got to focus. She took a deep breath; it felt good. She looked around.

Martin's lip was bleeding heavily. She wanted to help him. Come on, Sam, head in the game! Doing her best to ignore her pounding headache and ankle, she took one shaky step forward.

Suddenly, Martin went flying and hit the wall, hard.

Richard pulled the gun out of his pocket.

Sam slammed her fist against the side of his head, just as he had done to her. He went down, clutching at his eye.

And Sam raised her gun, which she had reclaimed from the floor where it had fallen.

Time froze. She could see Martin struggling to get up. Faintly, she could hear him yelling, "Sam! We have to bring him in!" She felt like she were in some old movie, everything was so surreal. She could see the blood on Martin's face. She could still feel the memory of her stalker's hands. She could taste the blood in her mouth. And she hurt so so much, and she was so, so angry.

"Samantha!"

Sam pulled the trigger.

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