Do not own General Hospital or any of the characters.

The Flame of Franco

The Breaking point...

The waiting room of the ER seemed to be filled with more people then usual at this time of night. Jason pushed his way through the doors and crowd that had gathered and made his way towards the nurse's desk. He was followed by Lucky.

"She should be here already," commented Lucky towards Jason as he looked around at the crowded ER. Most of the people,were the normal patients that could be found in any ER across the nation on a Friday night; kids with broken arms, drunks and such; others were people they knew. Carly and Jax were seated in the waiting room, beside Morgan and Michael. It looked like they were waiting to hear news on Josslyne.

Sam's family was in the waiting room too; Alexis, Molly, Kristina and Nikolas had come too. Sonny was seated with them.

"Excuse me," spoke Jason to the blonde nurse, who had just appeared behind the desk. "I'm looking for Sam McCall. She was rushed here by ambulance a few moments ago."

The nurse held a finger, indicating one moment as she turned her back towards Jason and began to search something on the computer.

"Yes, it looks like a Miss. Sam McCall arrived here a few minutes ago by ambulance. She is being looked after," replied the nurse as she looked up and met Jason's eye.

"Where is she?" he asked. He needed to see her.

"I'm sorry, sir. I cannot give away that information away. If you take a seat in the waiting room, I will be sure to send over the doctor as soon as they are an available," the nurse smiled kindly at Jason before turning her attention away from him.

Jason just stood there for a moment, staring into the back of the nurse.

"Come on," spoke Lucky as he grabbed a hold of Jason's arm and began to pull him away in the direction of the waiting room. But before they got there, Jason had shook him off and made his way through the crowd. He had just saw Robin come out of one of the trauma rooms.

"ROBIN!" he called out towards her.

The doctor looked up from the chart she was reading and met his eye. "Jason!" she replied. She wasn't surprised to see him.

"I need your help. I need to find Sam!" he spoke to her with urgency.

"Well, She is here," replied Robin as she closed the chart and gestured to the curtain behind her. Robin had been with Sam since she arrived at the hospital. She had been the one to hold her hand.

"I want to see her," spoke Jason to Robin, his blue eyes dark with determination.

"I'm sorry Jason," replied Robin, shaking her head sadly from side to side. "She is naked and exposed. It's too earlier for visitors. Go home, take a shower and get some sleep. I will phone you when you can come in," explained the doctor, her hand lay gently on his arm. She knew that Jason loved Sam and wanted to be by her side. But Sam was still out of it and probably wouldn't want Jason to see her like this if she was awake. Jason was one of Robin's oldest and good friends and she knew that it would just hurt him more to see the person he loved so hurt.

Jason's blue eyes looked down at Robin, they were pleading with her to let him in. He just needed to see her, to hold her hand and tell her that everything would alright, that he was here, that he loved her. "Please just let me see her," his voice came out in a whisper.

"I'm sorry Jason," repeated Robin once again. "You would just be in the way. Go home for a bit, I will call you when we are done." Robin held his gaze for a second longer before she turned on her heel and stepped back into the trauma room that Sam was in, closing the curtain behind.

Jason swore angrily before walking away. Emotion was building up within him like a volcano ready to burst. He was worried about Sam. He hadn't seen her since they had rushed her off in the ambulance at the scene. He didn't know how she was or if she was going to make it or not. That scared him. The last time he remembered feeling so hopeless like this, not knowing was when Sam had been shot, almost four years ago now.

He slammed his hands against the wall of the waiting room. His breathing was laboured as a thousand emotions and thoughts ran through him at once. He pissed at hell still at Franco and what he had done to Sam. He hoped that the bastard was dead and was rotting in hell at this very moment. Lucky had told him about the bomb going off at the studio. He hoped Franco had still been lying were he had left him and had died in the explosion.

"Jase," spoke Carly as she approached her best friend and placed a hand on his tense shoulder. It was the first time that she was seeing him since arriving at the hospital.

Jason turned towards her at this and met her eye. His blue eyes were filled with a mixture of fear and rage. Carly had never seen her friend look so vulnerable like this before. "How is she?" asked Carly, after a brief pause as she looked on, studying her friend's face.

"I don't know," admitted Jason in a quiet voice, "They won't let me see her."

"She is strong," replied Carly, dropping her hand away from Jason's shoulder and running it through her blonde hair. "She will get through this. You saved her, Jason!"

"I didn't save her from anything," snapped Jason angrily at her, "I didn't save her from ANYTHING!" His temper flared at this. He was mad at himself for letting what had happened to Sam, happen. The rise of his voice caused the people around them to look up at him at his sudden outburst.

Carly looked at her friend in confusion. "What do you mean you didn't save her from anything? Jason, you saved Sam from dying in that warehouse. You ran in and got her before she was burnt to death! How is that not saving her!" cried the blonde at her friend. She hated seeing Jason blaming himself like this. It wasn't his fault.

Jason just looked at her for a second before taking a seat on one of the plastic chairs that lined the wall of the waiting room, covering his face into his hands.

Carly took the seat beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder; waiting for him to continue.

"She was kidnapped because of me," explained Jason slowly, looking up and over at Carly. "Franco was the one who had an obsession with me. And I ignored him. He didn't like me for that. He didn't like how I wasn't going along with his strange game he was playing. Franco wanted to teach me a lesson and he did. He kidnapped Sam and Josslyne to get my attention. He wanted to make me chose. I thought I could out think him by rescuing both Sam and Josslyne. I was wrong about this," he paused for a brief moment at this before continuing on. This was the first time he was speaking about what had happened over the past week and why, with someone. "I thought I could save both of them by sending Lucky and Dominic to get Josslyne, while I got Sam. I was too late. And now Sam is paying the price. She is fighting for her life, Carly at this moment in that room. If it wasn't for me then none of this would had happened. Sam wouldn't have almost died tonight in that bombing!"

"Jason, Josslyne is safe. She wasn't harmed at all. You don't have to kick yourself like this. She is healthy and happy," interrupted Carly as she turned her weight in her seat, so that she could get a better look at her friend. They had just gotten the news about Josslyne and about to take her home."Sam might have been in the warehouse when the bomb went off but you went in there and saved her before the fire could have gotten the better of her. She is safe, because of you!"

Jason shook his head at this. "No, if it wasn't for me, then Josslyne would have never been kidnapped from her home like she was. If it wasn't for me and my stubbornness, then Sam...," he breathed deeply at this. He couldn't say the words out loud. "If it wasn't for me, then she... Franco wouldn't have..."

"Franco wouldn't have what?"

"He wouldn't have raped Sam!" whispered Jason harshly. He was looking away from Carly at this point and down at his feet. Tears were brimming the rims of his eyes. He had failed. He had failed Sam. He had made a promise with her and with himself that this time he would protect Sam with all his might and that she wouldn't get hurt. "I failed her." It was at this that Jason broke down into sobs. His massive shoulders shaking as he let his emotions finally get the better of him.

Carly sat there in shock for a brief moment. Not, only at what Jason had just said but by the crying of him. In all the years that she had known him, she had never seen him break down like this before. "Jason," she whispered as she tightened her grip on his shoulder and reached out with her other for his hand.

More to come soon! Thanks for reading and please review!

Julie