23

For as long as he's worked at Hillcrest, Sam's unsure if he's ever been inside the Chapel. There are a few pews and a lectern, a single pane of stained glass behind it.

"It's peaceful here," he comments. "...the ER can be...chaotic."

Adam is sitting beside him, and he nods. "I'm not sure I'll ever get used to that."

"You will...you'll have too, otherwise..." He lets his voice trail off, needing to find the right words. He thought he had long acclimated to the fast past nature of the ER. He had run an ER back in New York for years and he had seen many patients come and go with varying injuries and it had never really bothered him.

Until now.

Maybe it's because it was Cassie and the fact that he could have lost her today.

Maybe it was due to him still feeling the kevlar vest's weight around his shoulders or that the mild sedative Dr. Samir prescribed him has finally allowed his heart to slow down.

Maybe it's the running loop in his head that something could have happened to him down in that tunnel, something irrevocable, and every time he sees his son he's just so damn grateful that he made it out of there alive.

Maybe it's the anger with himself that he had even went in that tunnel at all.

Maybe it's the crippling fear that he's already lost Cassie.

His throat tightens, and he leans forward on his knees, burying his face in his hands.

"Sam, is there someone I can call for you?" Adam questions.

He's suddenly aware of how absolutely alone he is here in Middleton because his someone is currently lying unconscious in a hospital room down the hall.

He shakes his head, wiping his eyes. He attempts to pull himself together, taking several deeps breaths.

"I don't want to pretend to understand what you've been through tonight, Sam...I can tell it's weighing on you heavily and pushing it down, ignoring it-"

"-I'm fine," he cuts him off, rising to his feet. "I know what you're doing, and I appreciate it, I do. There will be a time and place for me to...unpack all of this but this isn't it."

Adam remains sitting. "What can I do for you? Let me help."

Sam wipes his eyes again, running a hand through his hair. "This helped. Thank you."

Adam nods. "When things settle, and it's the right time...I'm here to help you unpack."

Sam extends his hand to which Adam takes readily.

...

His feet are more or less on auto-pilot as he makes his way back to the emergency room. His heart rate has settled and the tremors in his hands have stopped. Everything around him moves quickly and boisterously and as he lets himself through the double doors, he welcomes the silence.

Grace, Abigail, George, Tara and Brandon are scattered around the waiting room. Grace's head lifts from Nick's shoulder as he approaches and she's so much like her mother, that she reads him like a book.

"She's still unconscious," she says for him.

He nods, rubbing the back of his neck. "Her EEG scans look normal and her vitals have stabilized."

"Then why isn't she awake?" Brandon asks.

"I'm not sure," he admits.

"I thought you were the best?" Brandon questions. "Isn't that what you said?" Tara tugs on her husbands arm, pulling him down the hall to calm down.

The waiting room is fraught with tension and anger and he rambles off anything that might give them all something. "Cassie's young, healthy, strong...all things that will work in her favour...I've contacted a former colleague of mine who works in neurology for a consult...I know this isn't what you want to hear, but we have to wait."

There's collective disagreement and frustration and he's right there with them. "...It's been a long night," Abigail offers. "We all could use some rest."

No one argues with Abigail and he gives her an appreciative look.

"Can I see her?" Grace asks softly. "Before we go?"

"Yeah, of course."
...

Sam pulls back the curtain and Grace attempts to hide her shock. She had quickly mentally prepared herself for what she might see, but seeing the sight of her mom, so vulnerable and fragile caused her chest to tighten.

"Is she in pain?" She questions. Sam shakes his head. "No."

Approaching her bedside, Grace slips her hand into her mothers that's been placed at her side. The dress she had been wearing earlier that night has been replaced with a hospital gown and there's an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. "Hey Mom," Grace greets softly. "...I know, deep down you can hear me, so I'll just say this: take all the time you need, just come back to us." Leaning down, she kisses her cheek. "Love you."

Wiping her eyes, Grace squeezes her mothers hand before letting go. Sam is there, and she turns into him. He wraps her in his arms tightly and she gets it. She gets why her mother had chosen him.

While she's scared and worried and minutes from falling apart, Sam is there, holding her together. "I'm really glad you're here, Sam," She says softly.

Sam hugs her a little tighter. "Me too."

...

It's the beeping that she registers first. The weight wrapped around her legs quickly follows.

She takes a minute to register her own body before opening her eyes. The fatigue is acute and there's a dull ache in her left arm. The mask over her face provides a steady stream of oxygen and while she feels as if she can inhale on her own, she's aware of how raw her throat feels.

Opening her eyes, it takes her a minute to register that the weight around her legs is actually Sam. He's sound asleep, his arm wrapped over her thighs protectively, his head awkwardly laying on the bed.

Something's different.

She attempts to wake him, and it's then she realizes her left wrist is in a cast, her right hand tucked in his.

What happened?

The machines around her begin to beep and Sam's head lifts from the bed almost immediately.

"Cassie."

The relief in his voice is jarring and the machines around her beep more incessantly. Nurses quickly enter the room and Sam is giving them instructions before turning to her.

"Your heart rate is elevated," he begins calmly. "You experienced a severe anaphylaxis episode...you're on the other side of it now."

He raises her hand to his lips, kissing it gently and the look in his eyes sends a flutter in her stomach. She has a million more questions starting with what happened to her arm and why he's dressed in formal wear, but she starts with the easiest.

"Wha...t hap...pend?" Her voice is weak, and her throat burns. She pulls her hand from his and his reaction is palpable.

Sam's brows knit together and his arms fold across his chest. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Her mind is foggy, and she struggles to pull anything concrete to the surface. "The...ferris wheel."

Sam visibly deflates despite his best effort to remain calm. "Ok..." He turns to one of the nurses. "Can you page neurology please?"

The nurse nods, leaving the room and she can feel the lump rising in her throat, the tears well in her eyes.
"Sam?" She can tell that he's waging with himself, and he ultimately settles with pulling a chair up to her beside, sitting.

"Cassie... I think you may be experiencing some memory loss." He clears his throat. "...the festival was about a month ago."

The tears spill down her cheeks and she moves to wipe them away but her arm is in a cast and there's a mask over her face and her movements are uncoordinated at best. Sam catches her casted arm before she can bring it to her face, and he moves to sit on the edge of her bed. He doesn't hesitate to catch her tears with his thumbs and a jolt of recognition courses through her body that her memory can't place.

It's a far more intimate gesture than what she's used to with Sam, and yet her body immediately recognizes it.

He catches himself, quickly reaching for the tissue on the night stand, handing them to her.

She doesn't trust her coordination at the moment and he seems to sense that, returning the box to the night stand. He's diligently watching her vitals and her at the same time. "This is a lot to process...What I need you to focus on is that you're safe, and you're going to get better."

He's projecting a calm that she clings to. "Grace?"

"She's just fine. Everyone is fine," he assures. A machine beeps and he glances at it before returning his gaze to hers. "How does your body feel? Are you in pain?"

She gestures to her wrist and her throat.

He nods. "We're going to focus on that right now, ok? Just that." He rises from the bed, adjusting the drip to her IV. "I'm going to up your pain medication...it will more than likely make you sleepy, which isn't a bad thing right now."

He returns to the chair by her bedside and she already feels sleepy. "I'm scared, Sam," she admits softly.

Sam reaches for her hand, and he hesitates a split second before weaving his fingers through hers. "I'd be scared too; that's a normal response, Cassie."

Something inside of her is stirring up a mix of emotions she can't place. "...something's changed...between us."

Sam shakes his head. "Nothing's changed for me," he reassures. "I'm right here." Her eyelids are heavy, and she closes her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

The End

*Thank you so much for reading! There will be a sequel, so stay tuned!