Phil and Jack had watched as the car drove over the stinger. With at least two flat tyres, the car spun out of control, careered off the road and crashed into a wall by the side of the pavement.

There was silence for a few seconds.

"Sam..." Phil whispered in a daze, then he seemed to come out of his state of shock and ran towards the vehicle.

"SAM!" he yelled, as he got closer he could see Cooper in the front seat, breathing heavily with a blank look on his face.

Phil reached the back end of the car and thrust the boot open, hardly daring to look inside. Sam was lying there on her side, breathing shallowly, her eyes closed.

"Sam?" Phil whispered again as he reached in and lifted her unconcious form out of the boot and layed her on the ground.

"Its gonna be ok Sam" he told her gently as he wrapped his arms protectively around her."Everythings gonna be ok now."

Sam could hear someone talking to her. She thought it might be Phil but wasn't 100 sure. She struggled to remember what had happened, her brain was working very slowly. She didn't even have the energy to open her eyes. She lay perfectly still, listening to Phils voice when another one sounded over his. Sam instantly recognised this voice as Coopers and a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of her stomach. She felt panicky and tried to move but her limbs felt like lead. She gave up with the knowledge she was now safe in Phils arms.

The next few hours were a blur for Sam. She was in a lot of pain and kept slipping in and out of conciousness. There were a lot of people surrounding her, talking all at the same time. She wondered vaguely what was happening, why there were so many people there and why she was moving but she was really past caring what she did or where she went next.

Phil went in the ambulance with Sam, all the while holding her hand and speaking words of comfort to her, unsure whether or not she could hear him.

When they reached St. Hughs, Phil was told to go to the waiting room while they wheeled Sams limp form away.

He went to the room and paced up and down, too anxious to sit. He was terrified he was going to lose Sam. She had looked badly injured. What if she didn't pull through? or what if she did but was permantly injured or disabled? These thoughts chased each other round Phils head. He couldn't wait for the nurse to come back but at the same time feared her arrival because of the news she would undoubtedly bring.

He felt like he'd been pacing for hours before the nurse entered the room. Phil was stood infront of her in a flash, bombarding her with questions.

"Hows Sam? Is she gonna be ok? Where is she?"

"Calm down Mr Hunter. Miss Nixon is stable. She mainly just has cuts and bruises, no broken bones or internal damage, but we're keeping her in for observation and because of her head injuries. She's slightly dazed and seems to be in a state of shock but she'll make a full recovery. If you'll follow me I'll take you to see her now."

"Wait..." Phil hesitated. He had just remembered a fact about Cooper that made his blood run cold."D-did he rape her?"

He held his breath waiting for the answer.

"There is no sign of sexual assault"

Relief flooded through Phil as he followed the nurse out of the room.

She took him into a ward and pointed to a bed on their left. Sam was lying on her back, her blonde hair, loose around her shoulders and her face covered in bruises and small injuries.

Phils eyes filled with tears as he looked down at her. She looked so small and vulnerable, he wondered how anyone could ever hurt her.

He sat down on the edge of her bed and put his hand over hers. Her eyes opened and travelled slowly up to meet his. She gave him a weak smile.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Phil asked her gently.

"Numb" Sam whispered. She tried to sit up but Phil held her still.

"Lie still Sam. Everythings ok now. Your safe, we've got Cooper, he's been checked over and arrested and the doctor said that your gonna make a full recovery so you have nothing to worry about." Sam smiled at him again.

They chatted for about an hour, Sam doing her best to forget what had happened and Phil doing his best to cheer her up but pretty soon he knew he had to tell her what was really on his mind.

"Sam..." he began, not knowing exactly how he was going to continue."Me and you have been best friends for a long time and I was pretty sure that was all we were but...erm...well, when you went missing, I began to feel something else for you... something more than friendship...I think I've been feeling this for a long time deep down but I've ignored it because I was scared of how you'd react and I don't want to lose your friendship."

He took a deep breath and looked up into her her startling green eyes.

"Sam...I think I'm falling in love with you..."