A/N: the first half of this was written after completing a piece of coursework, the second whilst very drunk, so if it's rubbish, that's why! It was very different initially but I changed it, hopefully for the better!

Sam's bottom lip quivered, her hand shaking uncontrollably as she held the bandage firmly in place, blood still seeping out from her open wound. 'Jo, Jo help me, please.' She allowed the words to escape her lips, the woman lying underneath her fast asleep.

Jo's eyes shot open, her body attempting to sit up but the form on top of her preventing her from moving. 'Let me up.' She ordered, a lump forming in her throat as she saw the crimson substance covering the pad Sam was gripping to her wrist, the bandage provided by the hospital not proving suitable to stop a heavy flow of blood.

Sam froze, her body refusing to respond to her brain's commands for a few seconds, her hand continuing to become covered in the blood escaping her laceration. It wasn't until Jo physically heaved the blonde from off the sofa and on to the floor that her body registered she needed to move.

The brunette flopped to the floor, sitting next to her superior, raising her arm above her head and clenching her fist firmly over Sam's wrist, attempting to at least calm the constant stream of blood. 'What happened?' She whispered, the fear coursing through every vein in her body preventing her from talking too loudly.

'I don't know. I just woke up and I had this searing pain in my wrist, I looked to it and I could see the blood on the bandage.' Sam informed, the light trickling through the curtains allowing her to see the dark substance on the dressing, her fear still evident despite her neutral façade.

'Okay, so you don't know why it's opened up again?' Jo asked, her heart rate increasing as the flow of blood refused to cease.

'I said I didn't, didn't I?' Sam snapped, Jo's constant mistrust frustrating her. Her face crinkled as she saw Jo's expression, 'I'm sorry, it's just, I'm scared, I don't know what to do.' She admitted, the pain, both physical and mental, she was currently feeling evident in her eyes, Jo noted.

'It's fine. You'll be fine, this'll be fine, I promise.' She murmured, her face steadily losing it's colour as more and more blood left Sam's body, coating the brunette's hand liberally despite the fact Sam's hand was closer to the wound.

'It's not stopping.' Sam mumbled, her own face turning pale as she saw the amount of blood being lost.

'I think I need to call an ambulance.' Jo confessed, her grip on the wound failing to terminate the blood running down Sam's arm.

'You can't.'

'I need to Sam, this isn't working, if you lose much more blood you'll…' she left her statement hanging, not being able to bring herself to finish the sentence she had begun. When the blonde failed to respond, Jo took that as the green light to call for an ambulance. Fumbling for the phone with her spare hand, Jo grabbed onto the receiver when her fingers brushed against it, pulling it towards her, grateful for once that it was cordless, allowing her to dial 999. It wasn't until she was half way through giving out her address that the stream of crimson began to ease, the brunette releasing a sigh of relief as it slowed, Sam's own eyes fluttering shut briefly in relief as she too saw the abating blood lose. The voice on the other end of the phone snapped Jo out of her silent trance, apologising to the woman before hanging up, reaching out to Sam's arm with her spare hand, supportively squeezing her upper arm given the fact the blonde's hands were both preoccupied with her open wound.

'be careful what you do with that arm, Sam, I don't want that opening up again, we might not be able to stop it next time.' Jo warned, busying herself with cleaning the blood off her carpet.

'I will.' Sam nodded to herself as if to reiterate that statement, her fingers shakily attempting to aid the brunette in clearing the mess she'd created.

Jo looked over to the blonde, watching her with teary eyes as she fought back the sobs attempting to escape her. It pained the brunette to see Sam in such a state, her face defeated and wearied, adding a good few years, her hands shaking so wildly that she couldn't even grip a clothe. 'It's okay, I can do this, sit down for a bit.' Jo offered, Sam's incapability of completing such simple tasks causing the brunette's heart to rip a little, Jo feeling herself the full effects of what Sam was going through.

'I want to feel like I'm doing something useful.' Sam admitted, blushing slightly. 'I feel like I'm imposing on you and your lifestyle just to bleed all over you and stain your carpet.' She joked, attempting to lighten the tense atmosphere that had descended on them.

Jo paused, glancing briefly to the blonde, silently wondering how she could be so flippant. 'You could put the kettle on if you want,' She suggested warmly, trying to hide her concern for her friend, knowing Sam wouldn't thank her for it. 'I'd love a cuppa.' The brunette added, attempting to make Sam feel like she'd be doing her a favour, certain the blonde would feel like a burden if Jo didn't show her she was wanted.

'Sam…'

'Yeah?' The blonde rotated her head to face the brunette standing in the doorway; Sam curled up on the sofa.

'I've got to go to work.'

'Okay.' She replied cheerily, not paying her full attention to the conversation.

'Are you going to be okay?'

'I don't need babysitting, Jo.'

'I know… but, will you call me if you need anything?'

'Yeah, sure.'

'And I mean anything. Even if you just want a chat or a pint of milk picking up on the way home.'

'I said yes didn't I?' Sam asked with a smile, not sure whether to find it annoying that Jo was being so protective, or kind of cute in a way.

'Yeah, okay, I was just…'

'It's fine. I know.' She added, standing up and walking over to her companion. 'Thanks.'

'What for?'

'Everything. Just being here for me.'

'What kind of friend would I be if I wasn't?'

Sam offered a small smile, placing her hands on her friend's shoulders as she stood on her tiptoes in order to place a kiss on the brunette's cheek. 'Thanks. Have a good day.'

Jo returned to the house, pausing slightly to think silently to herself before sliding the key in the lock, opening the door, shutting it behind her, and walking into her living room to find her blonde colleague curled up on the sofa, fast asleep. Smiling briefly, she placed her bag on the armchair, heading up to the airing cupboard to find a blanket for her friend.

She found, however, that when she returned downstairs her journey had been pointless as Sam was just beginning to stir, her eyes blinking tiredly to fight back the light threatening to burn her vision in her sleepy state. Once Sam had come around a little more and was able to sit up, Jo flashed her a small smile. 'Drink?'

'Mmm, yeah that'd be good.'

'Hot? Cold? Something stronger?'

'Erm, hot I think. Tea?'

'Yeah, sure. You had anything to eat today?'

'Erm, I had a slice of toast for breakfast.'

'Sam!' Jo exclaimed loudly, causing the blonde to writhe slightly in her position, still too tired to cope with such sudden and blaring noises. 'It's almost six o'clock. You need to eat, to keep your strength up. I'll cook you some dinner, what do you want?'

'Er, I dunno, something plain I think.' The blonde murmured, hauling her body up into a sitting position.

'Okay, I'll see what I've got.'

It was a few minutes later that Jo re-emerged, her hair looking slightly out of place. 'Wow, I have nothing in my cupboards! Fancy getting a pizza in?'

'Yeah, why not?'

'Cool.' Jo stated, rummaging around in a pile of papers before triumphantly holding a menu in the air. 'Here, have a look and see what you want, I think I'm gonna grab a quick shower.'

'Sam, you gonna be okay?' Jo asked tenderly, standing in the doorway as she watched the blonde cuddle down into the duvet, shivering as the cold bedspread touched her skin.

'I don't know. Stay with me for a bit?'

'Sure, let me just go get my dressing gown.'

''You can get under the duvet if you like.' Sam offered, stalling the retreating brunette.

'You'll get yourself some funny offers if you go around saying things like that to lesbians, Sam.'

'Sorry, I just meant… I mean, it's pretty lonely under here.'

Jo paused, a pained smile creeping onto her face as she thought of Sam feelings so isolated and vulnerable. 'Sure, it looks warmer than the chair anyway.' Jo grinned, sliding in next to the blonde, feeling a little awkward as she decided whether to roll over and face her friend or not. As she felt the bed sink slightly and then rise again as the blonde repositioned herself, she decided that seeing as Sam had turned to face her it would be rude not to.

'You alright?'

'Yeah, just thinking.'

'What about?'

All sorts.'

'Tell me.' Jo suggested with a smile, hoping the blonde wouldn't realise she was pushing her into revealing what was going through her mind.

'Just stuff. You. Me. Abi.'

'What about me?'

Sam blushed, shutting her eyes briefly before looking back to Jo. 'Just how nice you've been.'

'Any time.' Jo said with a smile, pausing to check whether the blonde was about to continue. When it appeared she wasn't the brunette proceeded. 'What's happened with you and Abi?'

Sam frowned, 'How do you know something happened?'

'When you were put in hospital I called her but when she found out it was about you she hung up.'

Sam's eyes shot up, the blonde's question written in neon lights on her face.

'I know I should have told you, but I thought you probably had enough on your mind as it was. I just wanted to make sure you were okay before anything like that was thrown at you.'

Sam paused, not really sure what to say in return to that, choosing instead to answer the question about Abi. 'We had a row. I told her I didn't like her choice of boyfriend, she told me I was being just like I was when she was with Hugh. As you can imagine that brought back some memories that are best forgotten. I can't understand how she could think that when she saw in the end what Hugh was like, it sort of escalated from there. Well, she ended up moving out of her flat and left. I didn't know where she'd gone and I think she wanted it that way. I only knew where she was when I got a phone call from my mum telling me she'd turned up there. She'd asked her not to tell me but she thought I had a right to know. I ran off when I was a teenager so she knew how painful it was for a parent. She didn't want me to have to go through what she went through. Missing person reports, television appeals, that kind of thing.'

Jo ran her hand down Sam's cheek, at a loss of what to say to make it better, to make her pain go away. 'That must have been awful for you.'

'Yeah, it was. I'm just glad she's gone to my mum's where I know she's safe.'

'What about her son, Jared was it? Where's he?' Jo questioned, presuming he wasn't a Sam's house.

'She took him with her. She didn't take all his things but she's got enough to cope. What she didn't take mum can buy her.'

'That's good then.'

'Yeah.' Sam commented, not really seeing it as a terribly positive thing but knowing what Jo meant all the same.

'Well, I'm sure you'll sort things out.' Jo replied after an awkward silence, feeling once again out of place in the double bed.

'I hope so.' The blonde leaned froward to stroke a stray lock of hair back from Jo's face, finding herself irrationally irritated that it obscured her features. Biting down softly on her bottom lip, Sam smiled waveringly, pausing slightly before removing her hand and rolling onto her back. 'Stay with me tonight.' She breathed into the dark, not daring to look Jo in the eyes as she threw this question at her.

'Of course, if that's what you want.'

'It is.' The blonde concluded confidently, turning back to face the brunette before snuggling down, shutting her eyes as her body screamed at her to go to sleep.

Jo found that as the blonde drifted to sleep she couldn't help but stare at her, the peaceful look adorning her face in her slumbering state only enhancing her beauty. Allowing her eyes to flutter shut momentarily she let out a sigh. 'Please don't let her be hurt.' She breathed into the night, her words probably some sort of prayer offering the brunette thought to herself, knowing only that she felt the need to protect her friend when she so obviously needed her the most.