Do not own General Hospital or any of the characters.

The Flame of Franco

Hi...

Jason continued to sit there in the uncomfortable plastic chair watching the hand of the clock tick by minute by minute. It was now the early hours of the morning and he still hadn't seen Sam. The crowd that had been there earlier was now gone. Alexis and the girls were still there waiting along with Nikolas and Sonny. Lucky had left shortly after arriving at the hospital. He had been called out on yet another scene.

Spinelli and Maxie were now here, waiting. They were seated along the far wall of the waiting room. Maxie was asleep against Spinelli's shoulder. It had been a long night for them all. Kristina and Molly were also asleep.

Robin had been out a few times, telling them how things were going. She hadn't given much away though on Sam's condition, only that they were trying to repair the damage that had been down by the fire. Jason had worried that Robin would tell everyone about the rape but she didn't. She knew that it wasn't her news to share. Lucky had been the one to tell the doctor of the rape; letting her know that a Sexual Assault Kit would need to be performed. A CSI had been sent in to take photographs of Sam's injuries and finger nail samples. They had not taken her statement thought. Sam was still out of it.

All eight figures stood up at the approach of Robin. She looked exhausted as she ran her hand over her ponytail and smiled slightly at the group, who had gathered around her.

"How is she?" asked Alexis, suddenly before Robin could speak. She was eager to know how her daughter was doing. All she knew was what Jason had told her about the bomb going off when she was still inside.

"Can we see her?" asked Kristina, in a sleepy voice. She had been asleep just a few moments ago, along with Molly.

"At the moment, Sam is being transported to ICU, where she will be able to receive visitors. We were able to repair most of the damage that had been done," Robin seemed to pause momentarily at this as she glanced over at Jason. They were both thinking about the long recovery Sam had a head of her. Some of the damage done to Sam was emotional, which no doctor could fix really. "But she still as a rocky recovery a head of her. Sam as a number of burns and abrasions along her body. Most of them are small and of first degree. But she did suffer a 3rd degree burn along the right side of her back which wraps around the side of her hip which we are monitoring closely and another along her calf. Sam also is suffering from smoke insulation and hyperthermia. She will be monitored closely over the next few days, making sure that infection does not occur. "

"Is that all?" Maxie was the one to ask this time.

"There is also a deep amount of bruising. She is also has a broken nose. But other than that, that is all. Since visiting hours are over, I am afraid that not all of you will be able to see Sam to night. She is still a little out of it and needs her rest. But I can allow two of you to see Sam," explained Robin to the group. "She is in room 567."

The group then thanked Robin before she left them too be.

"The Jackal and Fair Maximista are going to leave," stated Spinelli as he held Maxie's hand. He knew that the only person that Sam would probably want to see was Jason at the moment. "Give Fair Samantha our wishes of a quick recovery." And with that the couple waved goodbye and left.

"Why don't you and Jason go and see her, and I will take the girls home," suggested Sonny as he looked over at his ex.

"Okay," agreed Alexis slowly looking back and forth between her two daughters, who were suddenly quiet and glanced up at Sonny. She was suddenly very tired but forced a smile as she noticed the concern look on Sonny's face.

Sonny then looked over at Jason quickly before he turned his attention to Kristina and Molly. "Come on," he spoke quietly as he wrapped a protective arm around both girls shoulders and ushered them out of the ER.

Alexis watched as they left before looking over at Jason. "Shall we go?" she suggested as she adjusted her purse on her shoulder and placed her hands within the pockets of her coat.

Jason was silent for a moment as he looked up and met Alexis's eyes. Both couldn't help but think back to the last time that they had stood in the waiting room of General Hospital like this together. Both worried and scared for the same person. He then slowly nodded his head in reply.

"You have about an hour with her," explained the nurse to Jason and Alexis has they stood out of her room. "She needs her rest."

Both Jason and Alexis nodded their heads in agreement at this.

The nurse then smiled at the two of them before leaving them to be.

Jason looked at Alexis, "You can go in first," he stated.

Alexis was a little taken back by this. "Are you sure?" she asked, appearing at the man over the rims of her oval glasses. She would had assumed that Jason would want to see Sam first, or at least that they would go in together.

"Yeah, "Jason nodded his head in reply.

"Thank you," whispered Alexis at the mobster before taking a step towards the door, and entering the room.

The room was dark, except for the light that was hanging over the bed. An eerie silence filled the room as the door closed behind Alexis and she looked onto her daughter. She looked like a small child, so fragile and vulnerable as she slept beneath the pale blue blanket that covered her. Alexis brought her hand to her mouth, muffling her cries as a sudden wave of emotion rocked through her. There had been many times that Alexis had seen Sam hurt but this was far the worth. There was not an inch of skin along her body that didn't seem to be bruised or cut or covered by a white bandage.

"Oh Sam," she murmured as she fell into the stool beside the bed. Her brown eyes were filled with tears as she studied her daughter's face. There was an oxygen mask placed over her mouth and IV line in her right hand.

Reaching out, Alexis took Sam's hand into hers and gently squeeze it. This movement caused Sam's eyes to flutter open and look on at her mother.

"Hi," whispered Alexis, who was a caught off guard by this. She smiled at her daughter, more tears brimming her eyes.

Sam was not sure of where she was or what had happened to her. The last thing she remembered clearly was being in that strange trap of a box that Franco had her in. She remembered hearing a loud noise but after that, everything was hazy. Sam studied the face of her mother before opening her mouth and trying to speak. However, her throat throbbed with pain.

"You're at General Hospital Sam," Alexis began to explain to her daughter. "You were kidnapped by Franco, that you already know. However, the warehouse you were being kept in was rigged with a bomb that went off while you were still inside. Luckily Jason managed to get you out before further damage was done."

Sam's eyes widened a bit at the mention of Jason's name. Her eyes swept around the room, looking for him.

"He is outside," mentioned Alexis, squeezing her daughter's hand noticing her angst to see him. "I will get him for you," she added as she leaned over and kissed the top of Sam's forehead gently before standing up. "Rest well Sam, I will come back in the morning." Sam squeezed back her mother hand before let it go and left the room.

Jason who was leaning against the wall of the hallway, sleeping was surprised to see Alexis return so soon. "What's wrong?" he asked her with concern as he straightened his back.

"She wants to see you," whispered Alexis, a slight smile appearing on her face.

Jason nodded his head at this before walking past Alexis and stepping into the room.

His heart broke at that very moment that his eyes fell onto Sam curled up in the hospital bed. It pained him to see her like this.

He moved slowly across the room, his eyes never leaving hers before taking Alexis's seat beside the bed. He immediately reached out and took her hand, "Hi," he whispered.

Sam's eyes filled with tears as they looked deeply into the blue orbs of Jason's. She knew that he knew.

Bringing her hand up to his lips, Jason kissed her fingers.

It then became all too real for Sam. That it wasn't a nightmare but reality. The tears fell slowly down her cheeks before turning into shoulder shaking sobs. Waking up to see her mother's face hovering over hers with concern and now seeing Jason, it was just too much to wrap her brain around. That there was no turning a back from what was a fact.

Jason immediately let go of Sam's hand and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace; being careful not to touch the burn mark on her back. He gently stroked her hair, as her tears wet his shirt. He didn't say anything because he knew there was nothing he could say to make it better for her. Her wounds both physically and emotions would only heal with time.

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