Chapter 9
* ''Surprise,'' he brought out, and then he fell forward, knocking Sam off her feet in the process. He fell right on top of her, and Sam widened her eyes as the wind was knocked out of her. Her legs were on either side of his body and his head was on her chest.
''Sam! Are you ok?'' Kirsten asked right away, as Max and Milo lifted Jason and laid him down on the couch. Sam gasped and nodded when Kirsten asked her, and Kirsten helped her get up. Sam had felt Jason had a high fever, and she knew they had to be fast. She looked up at Kirsten and smiled.
''I'm fine, Nan – but I need to go and take care of Jason. Max, Milo, can you two bring him to my room? I'll come and help you take care of him,'' she said, and then she turned back to Kirsten, ''do you still have that ointment you had when I had that cut on my stomach?'' she asked her, and Kirsten nodded.
''I'll come and bring it over when I find it – you go and help Jason. Are you sure you're ok?'' Kirsten asked one more time, and Sam nodded.
''I'm ok – I just need to make sure Jason is ok, Nan,'' she whispered, and Kirsten nodded and walked toward the kitchen. Sam took a deep breath and even though she felt the tears build up in her eyes she knew she had to be strong, so she walked to her bedroom and started helping Max and Milo undress Jason. She was shocked to see the two bullet wounds when he was undressed, and she looked at Max. ''What happened?'' she asked, and Max started telling her what happened, even though he looked like he didn't like telling her things like that. *
It had been two long days and nights since Jason had collapsed, and Sam had been taking care of him almost non-stop. She had sent Max and Milo away, so they could get some rest. They would only be in the way, because they couldn't help. Kirsten had told her what to do with the ointment, even though Sam knew what she had to do. When she had the cut on her stomach she had to put it on two times a day, and she did the same with Jason's wounds. They seemed to be healing better, and the infection was already less than before, but the fever didn't really break. A couple of times it seemed like it would, but then it would spike again. She was afraid and worried for him, but Kirsten had told her he would be alright.
Sam had only had a couple of hours of rest in the last two days, because she didn't want to leave Jason's side. When Kirsten would all but push her out of the room to get some rest, Sam would sleep lighter than normal, and when something happened or when she heard something she would rush back to her room to check on Jason.
''Come on, Jason, you've got to get better,'' she whispered from her chair next to him, and suddenly he stirred. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and looked again, and he stirred again.
''Sam – come back to bed,'' he moaned, and Sam knew he was still hallucinating. It had happened a couple of times before, and he had said some things about what happened that night when she heard him talk to Jenna. She didn't know what was the truth until he woke up and felt better, but she knew now he had said 'I love you' to Jenna, but it was really to her. She didn't notice him opening his eyes, but when he grabbed her hand she jumped and looked at him with a smile.
''Just rest, Jason,'' she whispered, and he frowned and shook his head.
''You look like you haven't slept in days – come back to bed, Sam,'' he whispered, and she shook her head, but when she saw the look on his face she knew better than to protest, and she walked around the bed to the other side. She lay down and yelped when he pulled her in his arms. ''I won't break, Sam, just close your eyes and rest,'' he said softly, and she nodded. She had to be careful not to hurt him, but he had pulled her to his good side, and she took a deep breath when she closed her eyes.
''I don't want to hurt you,'' she whispered, and he chuckled softly.
''I'll sleep better with you in my arms, and you're on my good side,'' he whispered, and she nodded again. His hand moved over her back soothingly, and he grabbed her waist and pulled her even closer. ''Did you gain some weight?'' he asked her, and she stiffened. She didn't want to tell him yet – not while he was like this. She needed him to be clear, and when she shrugged he chuckled again.
''I guess I did,'' she replied simply, and he nodded.
''Go sleep, and I'll keep an eye on you,'' he whispered, and with that she fell asleep in Jason's arms. She felt safest in his arms.
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Jason woke up and noticed something was pressing down his arm. When he looked down he saw Sam pressed against him, and he frowned. He didn't even know what happened, but he loved having her in his arms. He just stared at her until he couldn't hold it anymore, and he struggled to get out of bed without waking Sam. He needed to use the bathroom, but there was no way to get out without waking her so he stopped moving and closed his eyes. He concentrated on thinking what happened when he arrived here – did he pass out? He remembered not feeling well in the car, and he figured he must've had a fever, because he knew he wouldn't pass out like that.
''Hey,'' he heard Sam's voice croak, and he looked down and saw she had her eyes open. She still looked exhausted, and he smiled at her. ''How are you feeling?'' she asked, and he sighed.
''I'm ok – I need to-'' he started, and she widened her eyes and nodded while moving away. He got up and groaned when his leg protested, but it didn't hurt as much as before. He made his way to the bathroom and listened intently, but didn't hear Sam anymore. He did his business and washed his hands, and when he moved back to the bedroom he saw her asleep on her bed. At least he thought this was her room. He saw his sweat pants and shirt on the chair in a corner of the room, and he moved and got dressed before he made his way to the living room. He saw the older woman, and he moved over to her.
''Jason – glad to see you're awake and better,'' Kirsten said when she saw him, and he smiled at her. ''Where's Sam? Is she still in the room – what happened?'' she asked when she didn't see her, and he looked back to the way he came from.
''She fell back asleep and I thought it would be better to let her sleep – she looks like she hasn't slept in days,'' he replied, and Kirsten sighed.
''That's because she hasn't – sometimes she would get an hour of rest but she sat next to you mostly,'' Kirsten told him, and he nodded. ''Now, do you want something to eat? I made a sandwich for myself but I can make something for you,'' she said, and he nodded.
''Yes please,'' he said, and Kirsten laughed. ''I bet you had something to do with the healing of my wounds,'' he suddenly said, and she shrugged.
''Sam took care of it – I only gave her the stuff to do it,'' she replied, and he nodded. He watched her make him something to eat, and he thanked her with a nod when she gave him a plate. ''When she called you that morning she thought you were busy with something, and she waited, but then she called you again later that day, and she got voicemail,'' Kirsten said, and he nodded.
''My phone broke,'' he replied, and she shrugged.
''She didn't sleep – and when she went to town the next day she came back a little more relaxed and I thought she would at least try to sleep that night – but then you came and she was,'' Kirsten paused and sighed, ''let's say she was surprised when she saw you, and then she had to take care of you,'' Kirsten added, and Jason looked down.
''I'm sorry,'' he said softly, and Kirsten laughed.
''I'm not telling you this because I want you to feel guilty, I'm telling you this because this shows how much she loves you and how much she wants you to be alright. Even though she thought for a second you didn't want her anymore, I knew she thought of that to be the better of two bad things for her,'' she told him, and he sighed.
''I just – when she called me, I could've answered and told her I would come as soon as this was over, but I didn't think of it at the moment. And then I didn't get the chance to call her back because I had to take care of everything and I didn't know what she would think – I could've known she would think I didn't want her anymore,'' he said softly, ''but let me assure you that is the opposite of what I want – I want to spend the rest of my life with her,'' Jason told the older woman. Kirsten nodded and smiled.
''How are you feeling? Do you have any pain?'' she asked, and he shrugged, and proved he did have pain.
''The wounds still hurt a little but it's better,'' he replied, and she nodded. He could see she didn't believe him, and he smiled. ''I think that ointment really helped though,'' he added, and she smiled.
''It's something else, huh? I don't know everything that's in it but it really helps – we used it for Sam a couple of times,'' Kirsten said, and Jason sighed. He didn't like the idea of Sam having to use the ointment, but it did help, and he had seen her scars – they weren't that evident.
''I've been thinking all week about it, and I finally realized what it was she thought,'' Jason said, and Kirsten nodded and urged him to continue. He felt good talking to someone who knew Sam, and he didn't even mind telling this woman about his feelings. ''she thought I was in love with Jenna – her cellmate – and when she came over she heard me say 'I love you' to Jenna, but I didn't meant it like I loved Jenna – I was telling Jenna what I would tell Sam when I saw her,'' he said, and Kirsten nodded.
''Normally Sam wouldn't be this way – she would confront you with it – but after spending that time in jail alone, she just started doubting everything,'' Kirsten said, and Jason had the feeling she was holding something back, but he didn't want to push her. ''She just needs you to tell her this, and I think she'll listen to you even if she is angry or scared – she always was fair to everyone she loved,'' Kirsten added, and Jason nodded.
''I love her so much, and I know I screwed up but I also am prepared to do anything to make it better,'' he told Kirsten, who smiled and suddenly looked up. Jason turned around to see a sleepy Sam standing there with a smile on her face, and he grinned shyly.
''I woke up and didn't see you in the bed – so I saw you had taken your clothes…'' her voice faded and she shrugged, and he smiled at her.
''I couldn't sleep anymore and I didn't want to wake you so I went out here,'' he replied, and she nodded. She walked over to Kirsten and kissed her cheek, and then she looked at Jason.
''You look better,'' she said, and he nodded.
''I feel a lot better – I think I'd feel even better after a shower,'' he added, and she widened her eyes and walked out of the kitchen. He frowned, and then he looked at Kirsten. She shrugged, but a couple of minutes later Sam returned.
''I have towels and clean clothes in the bathroom for you, and everything is ready for you to take your shower,'' she told him, ''I want you to call me so I can help you with your bandages,'' she added, and he smiled and nodded. Then he got up and moved to her, hugged her and walked out of the room to the shower.
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Sam stood a little surprised Jason had hugged her for a moment. But then she saw Kirsten smiling at her and she sat down where Jason had just sat. ''I finally fell asleep when he woke up,'' Sam told her, and Kirsten nodded.
''Jason told me – we had a good talk here,'' she replied, and Sam nodded and sighed. ''You heard what he said when you came in,'' Kirsten stated, and Sam just nodded. ''You just need to go with what you're feeling and listen good to what he has to say, Sam, and everything will be alright,'' Kirsten added, and Sam nodded again.
''I know, and I will – did Dave come by yet? I thought you two had to go see your daughter?'' Sam asked, and Kirsten nodded.
''He stopped by this morning and I packed some stuff – he can come here any minute,'' she replied, and Sam nodded. It wasn't like she wanted Kirsten gone, but she remembered what Kirsten had said before Jason had arrived, and that had been two days ago.
''I hope everything will go like you say. With Jason and me and Dave and your daughter,'' Sam said softly, and Kirsten smiled.
''There's nothing they can do anymore for my daughter but I know everything will be fine, sweetie. You just need to open up your heart, and by the looks of it you did and look what you got – he is really nice, Sam, and he does truly care about you,'' Kirsten said, and Sam looked down with a smile.
''I know,'' she said softly, and Kirsten laughed softly. There was a knock on the door and it opened almost right away. Dave stood looking at Kirsten and then at Sam.
''Are you ready Nan?'' he asked, and Kirsten nodded. ''Sam, I'll call you when we arrive at my mother's place, so you don't have to worry,'' he told Sam, and Sam nodded and got up. He walked over to her and hugged her tight. ''You listened to Nan?'' he asked, and she smiled and nodded.
''She told me to open up my heart right now – and you take care of her, ok?'' she whispered, and he nodded against her neck. ''I love you,'' she added, and he smiled.
''I love you too little one,'' he replied, and then he stepped back. Sam turned around to see Jason staring at them, but she smiled at him and hugged Kirsten. Dave and Sam had always been like brother and sister, and because Dave was one of the few grandchildren who came to visit Kirsten, she had a close bond with him. Kirsten kissed her on her cheek and they left the cottage, closing the door behind them. Sam turned around to Jason and smiled at him again, and he smiled back.
''Are you ready to talk?'' he asked, and she took a deep breath and nodded. Everything was going to be fine.