Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Sam or Jo, I do own Carly.
Chapter 6:
"Jo." The nurse said nothing more, stuck for how to approach the subject.
"Carly." Jo replied.
The nurse smiled, "I was starting to think you had forgotten me."
"No," Jo cut in defensively, "It's just that, well…"
"I get it. She's your new girlfriend, right?"
"I suppose, well not exactly. Actually, well, oh I'm not sure."
"Either you are in a relationship or not. How hard can it be?"
"You know me, it can be pretty complicated when I'm involved."
Carly laughed at that comment.
"No, well, oh I shouldn't be telling you this." Jo felt guilty at saying that much to her former flame, still unsure of what exactly it was between her and Sam.
"Tell me about it, go on I won't say anything."
Jo knew she shouldn't but she needed someone to tell, she'd had to keep her feelings bottled up for months, she needed to share it.
"When I was running down the alley, oh you promise you won't tell anyone?"
Carly nodded.
"Well, I wasn't chasing a suspect."
"I knew it, she hurt you, didn't she?"
"What?" Jo was completely shocked. "No. No way. No. Sam wouldn't lay a finger on me."
"Then what?"
"I had just told her I, y'know, liked her. And well, I thought she was straight. She kept taking my hand, I thought she was just doing it as a friend and I couldn't cope with that. So I got out of the car and I ran, well the alley was straight in front of me so I just ran down there. I just turned a corner and my ankle gave way. She then came dashing around the corner and tripped straight over me. Well, she checked my ankle was okay, and then, well one thing led to another and we started kissing. Then I got a text, pulled away, and well she insisted on getting me checked out. So we ended up here."
"You swear to me she hasn't touched you?"
"Define touch." Jo said cheekily.
"Hurt you I meant, I don't want intimate details, Jo."
"No way. She wouldn't."
"So why do the pair of you seem so nervous?"
"Because you asked who she was to me. It's not like we're exactly in a relationship, she just didn't know what to say."
"Oh right, I feel stupid know." Carly blushed, "Sorry to accuse her, I just wanted to make sure you're okay."
"That's alright."
"Well, let's get the x-ray set up." Jo just became aware of her surroundings; Carly had led her into the x-ray room, sat her down on the bed, and was now fiddling with some very technical looking equipment.
10 minutes later Carly came back over with two x-ray photos. "Look, you see?"
"Carly all I see is a few white squiggles on a black piece of clear thing."
Carly laughed at that comment, "Oh, right, yeah, well, it's not broken."
"Great."
"You're still gonna need crutches Jo."
"What, oh no way. Carly you know I wont be able to stand that. Please, no."
Carly smiled as she saw Jo pleading with her, "Sorry Jo, you need them, you can't even walk by yourself."
"Yes I can." Jo cut in defensively.
"Jo, you're way to proud to allow me to help you walk if you could do it by yourself."
Jo scowled but knew Carly was right.
Sam sat waiting in the cubicle, becoming increasingly nervous that Jo wasn't coming back, it seemed like the brunette had been gone hours.
At that moment Jo hopped back into the cubicle, Sam felt her heart skip a beat, "Oh thank God, I was starting to think you weren't coming back. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, it's not broken. I still have to have crutches though. What made you think I wasn't coming back?"
"Oh I dunno, you'd been gone ages and that nurse didn't seem to trust me."
'Oh, about that, her name's Carly. She's an old girlfriend. She kind of knows about us. I'm sorry, I had to tell her, she thought you'd hurt me. I'm sorry, I should have asked you first before telling her, it was just…"
"It's fine Jo, this isn't some dirty little secret. Well not unless you don't actually want to be with me." Sam felt embarrassed; here she was telling Jo that she wasn't ashamed of their relationship when she wasn't even totally sure Jo wanted a relationship.
"Of course I do Sam." Jo took the blonde's hand and entwined her fingers with her own, "So, you're not ashamed of us then?"
"No, of course not. I lov… well I, y'know, like you and all that. It doesn't bother me who knows."
Jo smiled, amused at the blonde's attempt to avoid the 'L' word. She lent over to Sam's ear and whispered, "I love you too Sam." She smiled at the blonde's reaction to this, the DI was slightly embarrassed at her evasion of the word, but Jo could tell from her expression that she was glad Jo had said that. "So, you don't mind who knows?" She asked cheekily.
"No, of course not."
"Good." The brunette said with a smile, causing the blonde to worry.
"Jo, what are you thinking?" she asked hesitantly.
"Oh, nothing."
"Jo?"
"Don't worry. You'll see."
Sam's face dropped as she followed the brunette out of the hospital cubicle, slightly concerned at why Jo was so pleased the blonde admitted she didn't mind people knowing about them.