A/N - I'd just like to thank DianeM37 my recently appointed Beta and jjbird for their input. Thanks to all who are tuning in and reviewing to this fic!

The following morning Samantha was woken by the sound of two nurses entering the room. They smiled kindly at her and made polite conversation as she straightened herself up before turning their attention to the patient in the bed.

"We have to clean his wound now. You might prefer not to be here," one of them suggested.

"Oh, I don't mind. You can go ahead," Sam replied, pushing her chair back out of the way and allowing them greater access to Jack. She stood back and watched as the nurses donned face masks and sterile gloves and laid out their supplies on a tray on the bed. They pulled back the sheet and opened up the surgical gown that Jack wore. It revealed a large bloodstained dressing covering a large portion of Jack's abdomen. Samantha wasn't prepared for the sight that she witnessed once they removed the gauze. A large open incision extended from the bottom of Jack's rib cage to his navel. As the nurses began to remove surgical packs from inside the wound, Sam first noticed the foul smell from the infected tissue. She felt like she was going to be sick so she quickly made her excuses and left the room. As the nurses continued to clean the infected area, Samantha stood outside the door with her back against the wall and gulped the stale air. Tears streamed down her face as the realisation of exactly how ill Jack was began to sink in.

Even though she had spent the entire night at his side and knew the extent of the surgery and the likelihood of infection, it wasn't until she witnessed the actual aftermath did the reality hit home. Until then it had all just been words. After the nurses finished looking after Jack, they left the room and stopped to talk to her again.

"Sorry about that," Sam said, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it. It's not a pleasant sight," one of them replied.

"So how is he?" Sam asked.

"There was a lot of infected material in the wound. We've removed what we could and cleaned the area and repacked it. I'll send the doctor to talk to you later," she said compassionately, touching Samantha's arm. "Why don't you go and get some breakfast and take a break, Mrs. Malone?"

"Oh, eh, I'm not Mrs. Malone," Sam said, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed," the nurse said, mortified.

"That's okay," Sam said with a smile. "I'm Agent Spade. We just work together."

The nurse nodded and smiled awkwardly. Even she could see that the emotions Agent Spade was displaying reached far beyond any working relationship she had ever experienced. They left the FBI agent to compose herself and they continued on with their daily duties. Sam decided to take their advice and she found the cafeteria. She ordered coffee and a breakfast bagel and sat there for a while. She sipped the coffee but hardly touched the bagel. She wasn't as hungry as she thought she was. Even though Jack had a good night, something niggled at her and she couldn't shake that feeling of dread that had been gnawing at her all night.

When she returned to the room in ICU, it was full of medical personnel. At first she panicked a bit thinking something had happened to Jack but then she realised that everyone appeared relaxed in the room. She saw Dr. Eastman was among the white coats surrounding Jack's bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, sensing she was interrupting.

"That's okay, Agent Spade. We're just checking up on Agent Malone's progress," he said, reading the chart and checking the monitors. "We've decided to increase the dose of antibiotics, as the infection is taking a greater hold than I would have expected. Thankfully, his vitals are holding steady. Considering the trauma his body has suffered, he's doing remarkably well," he said, appeasing her fears slightly. "We'll leave you to it. I'll call by later. For now we should continue our rounds," he said to his students as he headed to the door. Sam smiled faintly at the departing doctors and then resumed her position right by Jack's side.

"Trust you to have half the hospital fussing over you," she said to him, joking and giving his arm a gentle squeeze. He didn't stir.

As she settled back into the chair, there was a soft knock on the door. She looked up to see a smiling Danny Taylor standing there.

"Hey, Danny," Sam said, glad to see him.

"Hey yourself," Danny said, leaning down and giving her a peck on the cheek. "So, how's he doing?"

"There's no change really. He's got an infection but they don't seem overly concerned," Sam told him.

"You look tired, Sam. Why don't you go home and freshen up, get some sleep. I can stay with him all morning. I have to meet the Counter Terrorism Unit at 2 pm, though. They want a statement about what happened," Danny informed her.

"In all the confusion I never asked you what happened up there," Samantha said inquisitively.

"That's what gets to me, Sam. It just seemed like any other day. We were heading to pick up the car when Jack noticed a van over at the east elevator. He asked me if I thought it was odd. To be honest, I hadn't even noticed it until he pointed it out. Now that I think of it, of course it was odd. Only tagged vehicles should be able to gain access to anywhere above the first floor. Jack told me to go ahead and get the car while he checked it out. I'm such an idiot. I let him go over there by himself," Danny said as he walked and replayed it in his head.

"Don't, Danny, I told you it's not your fault," Samantha said, interjecting, "What happened then?"

"That's the thing, I don't really know. I was in the car when I heard gunfire. I ran towards it and then I remember being hit by a blast of hot air and then nothing. When I came to, it was like Armageddon--dust and flames everywhere. The way I see it, whoever they planned to take out in the FBI office, Jack interrupted them before they got the bomb to where they intended. Whether they set it off early or it went off accidentally, I don't know, but I think Jack saved a lot of lives yesterday," Danny said, looking at the wounded agent on the bed. "It could have been so much worse."

Samantha knew he was right. She had been so worried about Jack all this time that she hadn't even considered the consequences had the bombers successfully detonated the bomb inside their building. It would have taken out the heart of the FBI in New York. Dozens, if not hundreds, of people could have been killed or injured. Luckily no one was killed. Almost twenty people in the office building on the third floor had been injured by flying debris, but Jack's injuries had been by far the most serious. She looked at his bruised features and considered how lucky they were. He was alive and he was fighting, and that was better than the alternative.

Danny finally managed to convince Samantha to go home for a few hours and rest. He promised that if there was any change in Jack's condition, he would call her right away. Sam caught a cab to her apartment and she dozed as the driver took her through the maze of Manhattan streets. As he pulled up outside her building, she woke with a start. She couldn't believe that she had nodded off. She paid him his fare and tiredly dragged herself up the stairs to her apartment. She closed the door of her apartment behind her and threw her keys on the sideboard. She flopped into her sofa and put her head into her hands and let the tears she had been staunching for so long flow openly. She cried for Jack. The last 24 hours had been so testing. She wasn't sure what to do; she felt so helpless. She wanted to make it all right, just to do something. Instead, she cried; tears of frustration, tears of fear, tears of loss intermingled as they streamed down her face. She cried until she could cry no more. She looked around her lonely apartment and realised that she needed to snap out of it. Curling up and feeling sorry for herself was no good to anyone. She needed to be strong for Jack, and going to pieces wasn't an option. It was in times of such trials that people showed what they were made of. She realised that she didn't want to be that person who crumbled when they were needed the most. She stood up and walked into her bathroom and looked at her tear-streaked face in the mirror. She was a mess. She removed her makeup and began to undress. Step one was to shower and after that she would step up and face the world once again.

Meanwhile, as Samantha tried to extricate herself from her gloom, Danny spent a long morning sitting with Jack. He was more than delighted when Vivienne came by close to lunchtime. Still there was no change in Jack's condition. He remained on the respirator and was still heavily sedated. Like clockwork, a nurse would check on him hourly. By 1.30 pm Samantha hadn't returned and Danny had to get to the meeting with CTU, so Vivienne agreed to stay with Jack until she returned. Martin called in at one stage and brought coffees and sandwiches. He was worried by the fact that Jack hadn't shown any signs of improvement and commented on the fact to Viv. She explained what she had been told about the infection and told him that it could be days before his wound was closed and the sedation lifted.

As they sat with Jack, there was a light tap on the door. They both turned around to see Tevez and Rickman, the two FDNY officers, standing there. Martin recognised them immediately and invited them to come in, even though he knew that the nurses wouldn't be so happy to see so many people in the room at one time. He stood up and shook their hands to welcome them.

"He looks better than when we saw him last," Rickman said as he stood by the foot of the bed.

"Certainly does, especially without that pole sticking out of his gut," Tevez commented bluntly. Martin grinned. He held the two men in great esteem, knowing how much they had risked to get Jack and Danny out of that building.

"I never got to thank you guys properly," Martin said gratefully. "He wouldn't be here if you guys hadn't gone up there."

"All part of the job," Tevez replied bashfully.

"No, it's not. You put your own lives on the line. I know that and I'll never be able to repay you for that," Martin said appreciatively.

The two men were embarrassed by Martin's praise and were unsure how to respond, so they said nothing. They stayed for a short while and then wished the agents well and left.

Samantha eventually returned to the ICU in the early evening. She was casually dressed and looked refreshed and rested. She hugged Viv and Martin as she entered.

"No change then?" she asked, going to Jack's bed and taking hold of his hand.

"No," Viv replied. "You look better," she commented.

"I feel better," Sam replied with a smile. "I slept and I guess I realised just what's important."

Vivienne smiled at her, sensing she knew what she was talking about. Martin wasn't sure what she meant and hoped that it didn't mean she was going to get hung up on Jack again. He had hoped that she was over her crush and all the hurt that went with it. He hated seeing her put her life on hold for him, especially when he thought he would be so much better for her. But here she was and judging by the carry-all bag she brought with her, it looked like she was preparing to spend another night at his bedside. As usual, he said nothing and kept his opinions to himself.

Later that evening, Vivienne and Martin left the hospital and Samantha sat alone in the tiny ICU room. While she could have gone home and returned in the morning, she realized that there was nowhere else on earth she wanted to be at that moment.

A/N - too much hospital? Let me know if you think I'm dragging it out too much? Next chapter will have more Jack/Sam though. I promise!