The next few days pretty much melded into one for Samantha. She hardly swayed from her round-the-clock vigil by Jack's bedside. On the fourth day, Dr. Eastman came by on his rounds and, having examined Jack's wound and chart, informed Samantha that they would be taking Jack back to surgery to close his incision. By now, she knew what that meant—the infection was clearing. If the incision was closed, he would no longer need to be sedated. He should be waking up. She was delighted at the news. It had been the first good news she had heard since he had been injured.

He was scheduled to return to surgery that afternoon. Samantha read a magazine and waited patiently in his room while he was in the O.R. She sat there, knowing that he should only be a short while. As she waited, she took the opportunity to call the rest of the team and tell them the news. She had only hung up from talking to Danny when she saw a woman standing in the doorway. She recognised her immediately; it was Maria Malone, Jack's ex-wife.

"Agent Spade," Mrs. Malone said coldly. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Mrs. Malone!" Sam replied awkwardly. "I, eh …. Jack's back down in surgery," she said, feeling uncomfortable.

"What? Is there something wrong?" Maria asked, her coldness evaporating and concern creeping in.

"No, quite the opposite. The infection is clearing and they're just closing up the surgical incision. It shouldn't take too long I'm told," Samantha explained.

Maria entered the room and wandered around it aimlessly. For the first time in days, Sam felt claustrophobic and wanted to get out of there.

"The girls insisted we come. Nothing I could say would convince them that he's alive. They saw the news reports of the damaged building, the ambulances and because they can't speak to him, they don't believe me. They want to see him with their own eyes. I just had to check what his condition was before I allow them visit," Maria explained.

Samantha nodded, understanding her reasons. There was no point traumatising the kids.

"Physically he looks okay, a few cuts and bruises on his face. He hasn't been conscious since he was admitted, though, so I'm not sure about his frame of mind. The doctors say it's likely he'll be confused and out of sorts when he does wake up," Sam informed her.

"Okay, I might just wait and see him when he comes back, if that's okay," Maria said knowing the suggestion wouldn't be welcome.

"Sure," Sam replied, wishing she'd just leave. "I was just going to get something to eat anyway," she lied, looking to get out of the situation she found herself in. She bid Maria Malone goodbye and made a swift exit towards the elevator. Gosh, that was awkward, she thought as she made her way to the cafeteria.

About twenty minutes later Jack was wheeled back into the room accompanied by a number of nurses and doctors. They looked at Maria, not realising who she was.

"Are you a relative?" one of the nurses asked.

"I'm his wife, well, ex-wife," Maria explained. Dr. Eastman, who was also present, noticed Samantha's absence immediately. She had been the one constant in the room during the last few days. He was starting to get a picture of his patient's life. Awkward, he thought.

"How is he, Doctor?" Maria asked as the nurses settled her ex-husband back into the bed.

"His condition has improved immensely. His temperature is back to normal pretty much and the wound his clean. We're withholding the sedation now and hope he will regain consciousness in the next few hours," he said, watching as a nurse placed a nasal cannula under Jack's nose and over his ears. They raised the back of the bed so that he was in a semi-seated position.

Maria looked at him. Seeing him looking so ill it upset her. Even though they were no longer married, he was still the father of her children and the man she had loved for many years. Despite their differences, he would always hold a place in her heart. As the medical staff began to leave the room, she approached his sleeping form. She gently brushed his forehead before taking his hand in hers.

"Jack, it's me…Maria. The girls wanted to see you. They're scared and they want their daddy. You need to wake up, Jack, and get well… okay? I'll bring the girls in as soon as you're feeling better. Kate had her birthday party. We took pictures. She really missed you not being there. She was so looking forward to your visit this weekend. Now she'll be here to visit you," Maria said, squeezing his hand. "I'd better go. I think I'm standing on Samantha's toes by being here. She still likes you, Jack, even I can see that," she said as she leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll call back tomorrow and maybe bring the girls, okay?"

--------

Samantha was relieved that by the time she had returned to the ICU room, Maria Malone was nowhere to be seen. She resumed her vigil beside Jack. He looked so much better now that the tube had been removed from his throat and he was raised up.

The next few hours flew by. A steady stream of people called by to see how he was doing, including Elena and Danny and Paula Van Doren, their boss. Soon it was just the two of them again. That's when Samantha noticed the first few signs that Jack was starting to wake up. Initially the expression on his face changed slightly. He no longer looked as relaxed and frown lines started to appear on his forehead and around his eyes. Once or twice she noticed his eyelids struggling to open and his breathing deepened.

"Jack?" she said, pulling in closer to him and again taking his hand. She felt a squeeze as he made a loose fist. She squeezed back, letting him know that she was there. After a few minutes he opened his eyes and blinked several times as he tried to clear the haze that distorted his vision. He could hear a voice speaking to him. He turned his head towards the soft tones and smiled as he realised who it was.

"Hey, Jack," she said sweetly as their eyes met.

"Hey," he replied hoarsely.

"You gave us quite a scare," Sam informed him, raising his hand and kissing the back of it. "Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital," he replied weakly.

"Yeah, the doctors say you're going to be fine," Sam told him. Jack nodded. He tried to moisten his dry lips.

"Here," Sam said and offered him some ice chips. He gratefully accepted as she ran the ice over his parched lips. It was then that he noticed the cage protecting from his left leg. He couldn't feel his leg. His heart rate increased and his breathing quickened as he feared the worst.

"My leg…is it…?" he asked fearful of the answer.

"It was broken pretty badly but they were able to save it," she told him. "No soccer for you for a while though."

Jack smiled, relieved that he was still in one piece. His eyelids felt so heavy. He was struggling to stay awake. Sam could see how difficult it was for him.

"You rest, Jack. I'll be here when you wake," Sam promised and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Jack closed his eyes and allowed himself to be lured back into the slumber.

It was five hours before he opened his eyes again. This time it was a bit easier. The room was quiet. He moved slightly in the bed to try and get more comfortable and instantly regretted it. What was once a nagging ache in his gut erupted into an excruciating blaze of agony. His muffled cry snapped Samantha immediately out of her relaxed state.

"Jack? Oh God Jack, are you okay?" she asked, watching as the battle against the pain creased his brow. His eyelids pressed tightly shut and his teeth clenched as his breathing quickened and he tried to recover from the suddenness of the bolt of pain.

"I'll get someone," Sam said, fearing there was something seriously wrong. She left the room and hurried to the nurse's station where she commandeered a nurse and dragged her back to the ICU room.

By the time she returned, Jack's breathing had regularised and he seemed to have relaxed.

"Is everything all right, Mr. Malone?" the nurse asked, as she checked his radial pulse.

"Yeah," Jack replied. "Guess I shouldn't have tried to move, that's all."

Well, you've got to remember that you've had major surgery, Mr. Malone. If you need anything, press this button," she said, handing him the call button. "That includes if you need to change position. Your wound was only closed hours ago. It will need time to heal so you need to give it time. Do you need your pain meds topped up?"

"No, I think I'm okay….once I don't move," Jack replied as the nurse raised the bed slightly and plumped up his pillows. "Thanks," Jack said as he started to feel a bit more comfortable.

"No heroics, okay?" the nurse said as she left the room smiling. Jack looked over at Sam and raised his eyebrows comically. She grinned back at him, happy to see he was putting his best foot forward.

"You're still here," Jack said, as Samantha returned to her chair near his bed.

"I told you I would be," she replied.

"You don't have to stay, you know," Jack said.

"I know but I want to," Sam replied. Jack smiled. He very much wanted her to stay but didn't want her to feel like she had to. He reached and took her hand.

"Do you remember what happened?" Samantha asked more to test his recall than to get information.

"Just bits of it. I remember getting shot," he said, lying back and staring up at the ceiling as if it would help his recollection. "I returned fire then there's nothing but blank. I do remember Danny telling me off at some stage," he said smiling.

"He told you off?" Sam repeated, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, he was pretty annoyed, I can't remember why," Jack said, racking his brain. "Did he get out okay?"

"He's fine. He and Elena were here earlier this morning," Sam informed him.

"Must ask him why next time I see him," Jack said. "I remember some guy giving me oxygen and telling me to breathe normally and thinking, I would if I could. After that it's pretty much a blank."

"Don't worry, it'll come back," Sam replied, reassuring him. "Did I tell you that Maria was here?"

Jack looked at her with a surprised expression on his face. Sam nodded.

"And the girls?" Jack asked.

"They haven't been yet. You've been too ill and Maria didn't want to upset them," Samantha informed him. "Poor things were so worried about you."

"It was Kate's birthday yesterday. I was supposed to be going up there this weekend," Jack told her. He released her hand from his and rubbed his forehead to relieve the headache which was brewing. Sam noticed but decided not to fuss. He wouldn't want her to be overbearing.

"It was Kate's birthday last Friday," Sam corrected. Jack looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Last Friday? How long have I been here?" Jack enquired.

"Four days," Sam replied.

"Four days? Right," he said, digesting what he had been told. He started to consider the implications. It probably meant that he had been in bad shape when he was admitted. And if Maria and the kids had travelled from Chicago, they must have thought the worst. Also, judging by how exhausted Samantha looked, she must have spent the last few days either with him or worrying about him. He began to realise that maybe he was lucky to be alive. Although right now he didn't feel very lucky. His head ached, his stomach was tender and sore, his leg throbbed and his broken arm itched. All in all he felt like death warmed up.

He reached back and took Samantha's hand again. At least she stayed, he thought. Even after everything, she stayed. He closed his eyes as the pain became more noticeable and tried to control it by breathing through it. Sam noticed this and pressed the call button without hesitation. Jack didn't make any objection. When the nurse returned with the pain medication, she injected it into his I.V. line. The meds made Jack drowsy and pretty soon he had slipped away into dreamtime.

A/N - at last, Jack's awake!! Sorry for the delay in getting the chapters up. Will work on that! Thanks for your reviews.