A/N – This was going to go up over the weekend but had to deal with a sick child so that put paid to any writing, stuck at home looking after him today so hoping to get the next chapter written soon

Chapter 20 –

Zoe spotted Dylan walking out of cubicles and she quickly moved to head him off.

"Not so fast Dylan."

Zoe spoke firmly as she grabbed a hold of Dylan's arm and pulled him down the corridor, not letting go until they were safely stowed in Zoe's office with the door shut.

"Zoe?"

"Don't even start Dylan, how could you?"

Zoe sank into her chair and ran her fingers through her hair as she watched Dylan, he remained standing frowning at her, his mouth ready to formulate a reply but instead he shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"Sam needs to learn to take a step back, to not get so emotionally involved, she could have been killed Zoe!"

Zoe closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the last few words confirmed what she had believed for a long time, Dylan still cared deeply for Sam.

"If that it is what you think then I'm at fault too Dylan, we both got involved but I'm not sorry about anything. I know that you're upset that Sam got hurt but you can't bring your personal lives into work."

Dylan nodded his head as he folded his arms and looked at Zoe.

"Can I go now?"

Zoe nodded her head as she watched Dylan turn and leave, she didn't like to speculate about the relationship that had occurred between Sam and Dylan but surely the loss of a child had figured heavily in their decision to separate.

Sam was unable to keep her eyes open any longer, the exhaustion catching up with her as she allowed them to close, safe in the knowledge that it wouldn't be long until someone came along to check on Rachel and would wake her if needed. The dreams that came were not pleasant, Dylan's words though not meant to upset had brought long buried memories to the forefront. Suddenly Sam found herself standing in the frigid cold, alone in what she quickly realised was a cemetery, walking closer to the two freshly dug graves Sam peered down at the two coffins that lay at the bottom, she could just about make out the names that adorned the gold plates screwed onto them. Both coffins were small, the first one had Rachel Carden aged 12 on it, the other said George Keogh 1 day old. Sam felt the tears trickle down her cheeks as she found herself unable to stand up, Dylan had been right she had thought that she could save them all but she had only failed yet again. The touch on her shoulder only caused Sam to drop her head further down but it didn't leave her, it took a firmer grip squeezing and shaking her shoulder until Sam had no choice but to turn around and open her eyes.

Alice sat up and took a hold of the crutches, they had wanted to keep her in hospital for longer but with the arrest of the members of the Poseidon group Alice knew that it was no longer an option. So armed with a barrage of pills and a pair of crutches she was ready to leave, heading straight to the station but first of all she needed to stop down in the ED and have a quiet word with Sam and Rachel.

Rachel opened her eyes and saw the white ceiling that was bright with artificial light. Closing them again briefly she remembered being stuck in the house, the fire and then Sam holding her. Realising that she had managed to escape the fire Rachel's immediate thoughts ran to Sam and what had happened to her, she went to speak but found herself unable to talk or make much movement.

"It's ok Rachel just relax for a moment."

Rachel moved her head slightly and saw Zoe standing over her, a smile on her face before she moved away Rachel tried to take heed of the words as she blinked her eyes several times.

"Hey Rachel it's good to see you."

Sam spoke softly a small smile on her face and Rachel tried to smile and say hello back, the relief that Sam was alive felt immense.

"Rachel we had to put you on a ventilator to help you breath, you and Sam inhaled a lot of smoke, let me check you over and ten we can see about removing it."

Zoe appeared once again in Rachel's eye line, looking carefully at Rachel as she spoke before she reached out and took a hold of Rachel's hand, stroking it gently as Rachel managed to nod her head in response.

"That's great, good girl Rachel now just relax for me, everything is fine now, you're safe with us."

Zoe let go of Rachel's hand before she pulled her glasses on and looked at the monitor beside Rachel's bed and her medical notes, Zoe could feel Sam reading over her shoulder but she didn't mind as she turned to look at Sam, quickly noticing the deep shadows under Sam's eyes.

"I want to take her off the ventilator."

Sam nodded her head as Zoe walked over and pulled a pair of gloves on, moving closer to the bed Sam reached and placed her bandaged hands on top of Rachel's hand, noticing the slight look of horror on Rachel's face Sam just smiled and shook her head as she watched Zoe moving closer.

Alice hobbled along the corridor peering into the various rooms before she spotted the familiar figures, she was about to enter when she saw Zoe pulling something out of Rachel, quickly Alice turned away before she wandered to go and get a coffee.

"Ok don't try and speak for a moment Rachel, just keep your breathing nice and steady."

Zoe smiled as she listened to Rachel's chest, ensuring that everything was ok before she removed her glasses and looked at Rachel, placing a hand on the girl's head.

"How are you feeling Rachel?"

Rachel swallowed hard, her throat felt sore but she nodded her head and looked at Sam.

"Your hands?"

"They'll be fine Rachel, just a little sore."

"You burnt them getting me out?"

Sam nodded her head as Zoe stroked Rachel's hair.

"Don't speak too much Rachel your throat will be sore for a while, just relax and I'll be back to check you both later."

Zoe smiled before she winked at Rachel and left Sam standing beside the bed.

"What happened to them Sam?"

"Don't worry about that for the time being Rachel, you're safe here nobody is going to come and hurt you ever again."

"Please don't leave me alone."

Rachel's voice broke as she spoke and Sam saw the tears starting to well up in Rachel's eyes, ignoring the pain in her hands she reached over and gently rested her hand on Rachel's cheek, shaking her head firmly before she moved the chair as close as she could to the bed and sat down, resting her head close to Rachel's on the bed.