"No… NO!" Sam shrieked, trapped in yet another nightmare.
Tom dashed out of the spare room as soon as he heard the sound, having kept his door ajar so he could listen out for any sounds of distress. When he entered Sam's room she was thrashing around so much she was threatening to fall off of the bed, causing him to lunge forwards and hold her side just as she was about to. She awoke after a few seconds, staring at him blankly for a moment before consciousness finally fully kicked in.
"What time is it…?" She mumbled as Tom gently helped her back onto the bed.
"Half four." Tom replied.
Sam turned around and stared at him wide-eyed before asking, "In the morning?"
"'fraid so…" Tom replied with a small smile.
The journey back from Caterham had taken far longer than originally anticipated, as they had trouble getting north of London due to traffic jams left, right and centre. The eight hour journey had increased to a 12 hour one, and so everyone had only collapsed into bed a few short hours ago.
"Sorry for waking you…" Sam said with an apologetic smile.
"No worries. I had my door open so I could listen out for you." Tom said gently as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"That's sweet of you... thanks." Sam said, her smile growing larger.
"Would you like me to leave?" Tom asked once again, making to stand up.
"Can you stay again? I don't seem to have the nightmares when you're around." Sam replied with an uncharacteristically shy demeanour.
"No problem." He replied with a smile as he clambered under the covers she was holding up for him.
They laid there for a few minutes in silence, neither so much as trying to get back to sleep. Tom could only assume what Sam was thinking, but he himself was thinking about what Zoe said. It had been playing on his mind since that long car journey.
"So…" Sam said slowly.
"I've been thinking," Tom began, "About what Zoe said."
"Me too." Sam replied.
"What were you thinking?" Tom asked, suddenly nervous about her answer.
"I… I think she's right in some respects." Sam said slower still.
"Like what?"
"Like how when I woke up you were the one I trusted, and I stayed at your house. You were also the one who saved me from that freak in the bar."
"Yeah I'm still not happy with you for getting that freak out of jail, by the way. He could still come after you." Tom said in a warning tone.
"I know you're not happy." Sam replied, "But think of it this way: With all the money I've got I could hire an army of security guards."
"True.." Tom replied, though in truth an army of burly security guards did not do much to ease his fear.
"Or I could just have you punch anyone who comes within a five foot radius of me other than Zoe or anyone else we know."
"Also true." Tom said with a small smile.
"But seriously… What the hell should I do with all this money? Move into a mansion and never work again?" Sam asked, turning on her side to face him.
"I don't know," Replied Tom as he did the same, "What's Mark doing?"
"He's using some of it to buy a bigger house and donating a massive sum to charity," Sam replied, "Well according to Zoe that's what he's doing anyway. When she called him all I heard was someone on the other end of the call shrieking like a girl."
Tom laughed, which immediately set Sam off. They could feel the tension that had followed Zoe's speech about how they would be perfect for each other melting away to the point where it became a distant memory. When they both stopped they found themselves staring at one and other, both with intent in their eyes.
They must have stayed like this for over a minute, each trying to read the other's thoughts. Tom didn't want to be the one to make the first move as he didn't want to have gotten completely the wrong end of the stick about what this moment meant and freak her out. It looked like Sam was having a few reservations of her own.
"We don't have to do this." Tom said at last, breaking the spell that was locking their eyes together.
"I know, but…." Sam began.
"But what?"
"But I want it to mean something this time. I don't want to kiss you until… until we've figured this out."
"Okay so… do you want to go on a date?" Tom asked nervously.
"Yeah," Sam replied, "I do. But do you know what I really want to do right now?"
"What?"
"Sleep for around 12 hours straight."
"Same here."
…
Lol houses and weddings….
Let me clarify: You guys were closer when you said rebuild the hospital but they don't have the money, there's tonnes and tonnes of rubble there and it would take a couple of years at least. What could they do alternatively…?