A/N: You guys are awesome! I'm so happy so many of you decided to follow me to this new story. I know a lot of you feel the same way I do about how the writers ruined Jason's return to GH. I'm hoping to right some wrongs, at least to my mind. LOL

Happy Reading!

Jen

buttercup0303

Chapter 3

Sam watched helplessly as they rolled the stretcher into the cubicle, doctors and nurses rushing forward to start examining him. She listened with a sinking heart as the monitors went crazy again, signaling another crash.

Her vision suddenly spotty, Sam swayed. She stumbled back against a hard chest and turned to look up into the handsome visage of Patrick Drake. He steadied her with his hands on her shoulders, his gaze becoming alarmed at the sight of blood on her hands and clothing.

"Sam, Jesus. What happened to you? Are you alright?" He asked quickly.

Sam nodded numbly.

"I'm okay, Patrick. It's not my blood. It's his. I found him in the road, just lying there broken and dying." She said, her voice breaking as she turned to watch the doctors and nurses work on him.

Patrick frowned and studied her.

"Do you know him?" He asked curiously. Sam shook her head, rubbing her hands over her face tiredly, momentarily forgetting the blood staining her hands.

"No. I can't explain it, Patrick. I just...I don't want him to die. Please help him. Save him, Patrick." She entreated, staring up at her best friend. Patrick studied her quietly before nodding once. He dropped a kiss onto her forehead and leading her to one of the chairs in the nearby waiting area, straightened.

"I'll do what I can, Sammy." He promised, before jogging over and stepping in. She watched as Nurse Sabrina Santiago rushed by with bags of blood in her hands and headed straight for the cubicle.

But to Sam's horror, Sabrina immediately rushed out, shouting.

"Call up to the OR, tell them we're on our way up!" Sabrina spun back towards the cubicle but Sam rushed forward and grabbed her arm as she passed. Sabrina looked at her questioningly.

"Sabrina, wait. Tell me what's going on." Sam demanded anxiously. Sabrina shook off her grip gently and shook her head apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I have to go."

She rushed back into the cubicle. A moment later, Patrick and Sabrina, along with several other nurses were pushing John Doe's stretcher towards the elevator on the way to the OR. Patrick winked at her and kept going.

Sam stood and watched until the elevator doors closed. Her stomach lurching, she spun around and bolted towards the bathroom. She barely made it into the stall before she threw up.

Standing on shaky legs, she rinsed her mouth in the sink and stared into the mirror. Her shirt and jeans were covered in that stranger's blood. She stared down at her hands and though she'd already washed off most of the blood, it was all she saw.

"What is wrong with me? Why do I care so much?" She asked herself almost angrily. A vision of the stranger's brilliant blue eyes flashed through her mind. Shaking her head, she shoved aside thoughts that made no sense and pushed away from the counter.

It didn't matter why she cared. She just did. Turning away, she went to go find news about his surgery.

…

The next day found Sam back in the hospital, asking for news about the John Doe brought in the night before. She'd already been down to the police station and given her statement to Dante. It had been all she could do not to rush through it so she could get back here.

And now, Epiphany was refusing to give her information because she wasn't family. It wasn't easy, but Sam didn't argue. She knew Epiphany and it wouldn't have done any good. Besides, she knew how she was going to find out what she needed.

"Hey gorgeous."

With a smile, Sam turned to stare up at Patrick's handsome face.

"Just the man I wanted to see." She said, linking arms with him.

"Why do I feel like I owe this honor more to the mystery patient you came in with yesterday than a pressing, nagging, urgent desire to visit your best bud?" Patrick teased, leading her down the halls.

She laughed and bumped her hip against his.

"Well, you know I always want to see your handsome face. But you're right. How's he doing?"

Patrick's face was serious as he looked down at her.

"It's not good, Sam. He suffered an unbelievable amount of injuries, injuries that are not easy to come back from. He had back to back surgeries last night and he's scheduled for another surgery with myself and another specialist for facial reconstruction. Poor bastard. He's gonna have a long road ahead of him." Patrick said sympathetically.

Sam let out an unsteady breath.

"Wow. Do...do you think that he'll make it?"

Patrick pinched the bridge of his nose and shrugged.

"I really don't know. Sam, tell me what's going on. What's your connection here?"

Sam shrugged and walked away a few steps.

"I don't know. I mean, I found him, you know. Maybe I just want to follow through and make sure he's okay. We don't know who he is, so he doesn't have anyone else. I promised him on the side of the road that I would stay with him, so I'm just keeping my promise."

Patrick was worried. This wasn't like her. Sure, Sam was compassionate and caring, but this was more than that. She didn't just care. She was emotionally invested and he couldn't figure out why. Hell, he didn't think she even knew why.

"There's more here, Sam. But you don't have to tell me until you're ready. When you are, I'll be here. Always."

Sam turned and walked into his arms, holding tight as he pulled her against him. He was her touchstone. There had been a moment when she thought they would be more, but they had agreed it wasn't right for either of them. She couldn't let Jason out of her heart, and he couldn't let go of Robin. It wouldn't have been fair to anybody to pretend that those obstacles didn't exist.

But what they had now was precious and she wouldn't trade it for the world. He was her person and she was his. They told each other everything and shared secrets, knowing they would be free from judgment with each other.

"Sam, what's wrong? You're holding something back."

And with those words, Sam broke. She began to cry as she described what had happened at Sonny's the night before, right before the accident.

"Patrick, I felt Jason's presence so strongly that I couldn't breathe. And then I felt the crushing pain of his loss all over again. What is wrong with me, Patrick? Why can't I let Jason go? It's been almost two years." She cried, swiping angrily at her tears, frustrated with herself.

Patrick's arm dropped across her shoulders.

"Sammy, stop. You have every right to grieve for your husband." Patrick swallowed the lump in his throat as guilt swamped through him. It killed him that he hadn't told Sam about Jason being alive when he'd had the chance. And then he'd died for real when Robin's treatment failed, and it was too late. He hadn't wanted Sam to go through that hell all over again. Everytime he looked at Sam, he felt like he would drown in that guilt.

Clearing his throat, he continued on.

"Hell, Sam, you know I grieved for Robin for a long time before I finally accepted that she was never coming back. When she did finally come back and then left again, I went through that same grief all over again. It's going to take time."

Sam pushed to her feet, shoving her hair out of her face.

"How much time, Patrick? When will I stop feeling this emptiness inside me? This feeling that a piece of me is missing. And what's worse, this feeling like he's out there somewhere, just waiting for me to find him. I miss him so much, Patrick. I just want Jason to come back to me."

Just then, Patrick's pager beeped. Checking it, he glanced at her.

"It's John Doe. It's time for his surgery."

Sam nodded, her focus shifted for the moment.

"Go, go." She rushed him off. Just as he reached the elevator she called out to him.

"Patrick!"

He turned and looked at her.

"Keep him alive. Yeah, I know." He answered her before she could say exactly that. He nodded and disappeared into the elevator.

Sam knew she couldn't sit in the hospital for hours but that's what she wanted to do. She forced herself to get up and leave. Monica had called and asked to have Danny for the weekend so Sam went into the office to work on some cases she'd taken on recently.

She worked for a few hours but found herself checking her phone constantly, wondering if John Doe had gotten out of his surgery yet. She forced herself to work a little longer but it wasn't until she realized she was just staring blindly at her computer screen that she shook her head and pushed away from her desk.

"Screw it." She muttered, grabbing her leather jacket on the way out the door.