"Doc, don't you think we should get Kayla?" John asked his wife. He was sitting on one side of Sami's hospital bed and Marlena was sitting on the other side, softly caressing her daughter's hand, patiently waiting for her to wake up.
"Hmm why, Honey?" Marlena asked, looking over at her husband.
"She said Samantha would wake up in a few hours and it's been almost 5." He couldn't help but worry.
Marlena smiled at him. "I'm sure she'll wake up soon." She reassured him. "I think she just needs the rest."
"So everything looks okay?" He double checked, knowing Marlena was looking at machine that was keeping track of Sami's vitals earlier.
"Yes, her vitals are normal." Marlena confirmed, looking at their daughter who was still sound asleep. "And it's a good thing she is resting, John." She added, letting go of Sami's hand for a second to squeeze his.
"You're right. I'm sorry. I should be the one comforting you." John apologized.
"John, I know you love Sami just as much as I do. We can both comfort each other." Marlena assured him.
John smiled at his wife before he looked at Sami, who looked so small and lifeless in her hospital bed. "It's just…" John trailed off.
"It's just what?" She asked, encouraging him to say what was on his mind.
"She looks so frail. Nothing like the powerhouse that usually comes barging back into town. I guess I'm just not used to her being this quiet…" He hadn't seen Sami fragile like this in a very long time.
"I know." Marlena agreed sadly. "But we'll get our girl back." She added with a little more confidence than she actually felt.
"What do you think about the doctor in Italy prescribing her valium?" John asked, wanting to hear her professional opinion about that. He himself wasn't a fan of any type of pills after the addiction problems both he and his sons had but he knew his wife sometimes disagreed.
Marlena thought for a few seconds before answering. "I don't want to judge another doctor on his decisions before knowing the full story but I definitely do not like the empty look in Sami's eyes."
"That's why you asked her if she had taken anything?" John realized, thinking back to the moment in Italy a little more over a day ago. A moment that had not gone over very well with Sami who had basically told her mother to mind her own business.
"Yes, as soon as we saw Sami in Italy something about her seemed off to me." Marlena explained. "In hindsight it might have not been the best question to ask your daughter after not seeing her for a long time."
"I don't think Sami would have been very receptive to us visiting her unannounced either way." John started. "Especially since she was ab-,"
"Okay. No need for details, please." Marlena interrupted him, thinking back to finding Sami in some guy's hotel room. It had been very hard to track her since she apparently hadn't been staying in the house she used to share with EJ and the children. After John had finally located her in a hotel room they had been so eager to see her that they hadn't even thought about what she might be doing there. That became clear when the guy she was with opened the door half dressed.
"Sorry." John apologized with a smile.
Sami heard familiar voices talking softly but she felt so tired it was a struggle to open her eyes. She thought about just giving in and going back to sleep but her curiosity won and she managed to open her eyes. The voices belonged to her mother and stepfather who were sitting on either side of her engaged in a seemingly serious conversation. "Mom." Was all she had the strength to say, although she had so many questions running through her mind.
Marlena's eyes quickly shot towards her daughter. "Sami." She led out, relieved that her daughter was awake. "Hi Sweetie." She added with a smile, softly caressing her daughter's hair and giving her a kiss on her head.
"It's so good to see those beautiful blue eyes." John said, smiling at his stepdaughter, also giving her a quick kiss in her hair.
Sami felt so confused, was she in a hospital? What happened? Was she in Italy or in Salem? Was she seriously hurt? She tried to form a question in her head but her mind didn't cooperate. All she felt was a splitting headache which seemed to get worse the more she tried to think or speak.
Marlena noticed Sami's confused eyes darting between herself and John's. She quickly tried to reassure her when she saw some panic starting to form there. "You're safe, Honey." She said calmly, taking her daughter's hand in hers. "Don't try to speak yet. I will explain what's going on." She added and Sami nodded weakly. "You are in Salem University Hospital. We took you here because you passed out at the Pub. You are going to be fine but you probably feel a little out of it still because of the medication."
Sami did remember being at the Pub with Johnny and Eric and Jude. "Johnny?" She managed to ask, her voice sounding hoarse.
"Aunt Kayla only allowed 2 people in your room at the same time but Johnny is right outside with EJ." Marlena told her.
"EJ?" Sami asked, confused. She was pretty sure EJ had stopped caring about her a long time ago.
"Yes, he is still your health care proxy apparently. So the hospital called him." Marlena explained. "Are you in any pain, Honey?" She quickly asked, not wanting to linger on EJ and also wanting to make sure her daughter was doing okay.
"Headache." Sami admitted, still too tired to form full sentences.
"I'll go get a doctor." John offered and he stood up. Marlena stood up as well to instruct him about what to tell the doctor but that seemed to scare Sami.
Sami felt panic rising in her chest at the thought of her parents leaving her alone in the strange room. "No!" She let out, trying to sit up but barely managing to.
Marlena quickly sat back down. "Sami, lie back down." She instructed, softly pushing her daughter back down in the bed, fortunately not needing a lot of strength for that. "John is coming right back, okay? And I'm staying right here with you." She promised and after thinking it over for a few seconds Sami nodded her approval.
"Okay, I'll be right back." John promised both his wife and daughter before quickly leaving the room.
Marlena softly caressed Sami's hair again, trying to keep her calm. "Honey, you can go back to sleep again if you feel tired. I promise you I'll be right here when you wake up."
"Wanna go home." Sami said, although she was fighting to keep her eyes open.
"Aunt Kayla said you can leave in the morning... which is only a few hours from now and it will go by really quickly if you go to sleep." Marlena tried to convince her.
"Italy?" Sami asked before admitting defeat and closing her eyes. Picturing the serene beaches in Italy where no one knew her and she didn't have to talk to anyone.
Marlena let out a worried sigh before answering. "You can go back to Italy in a few weeks but first you need to get better." She wasn't sure if Sami heard her until she heard her daughter mumble a soft okay before falling back into a deep sleep.
A few seconds later Kayla, John and Johnny walked back into the room. EJ was smart enough to stay in the door opening.
"Mom's asleep again?" Johnny asked, disappointed, standing still at the end of her bed.
"Yes, sorry, Honey, she was only awake for a few minutes." Marlena apologized, feeling sorry for her grandson. "But she immediately asked about you and I told her you were right outside." She said, hoping that would make him feel a little better. Johnny nodded and gave her a small smile.
"John said Sami was complaining of a headache?" Kayla asked, while checking Sami's vitals and writing them down on a chart.
"Yes, she was having a pretty bad headache it seemed and she was so tired that she couldn't even form full sentences." Marlena explained, looking at Kayla for answers.
"Well her vitals still seem good." Kayla reassured the family. "Like I said before her body isn't in the best shape right now, that combined with the sedative we gave her and her not finishing her IV drip yet explains the headache and exhaustion."
"So she'll be okay in the morning?" Johnny asked hopefully.
"Yes, I do expect her to feel better in the morning once her IV drip will be finished. Just to be sure I'll ask the nurses to administer something for the headache." Kayla explained. "But like I said before, she'll still need to take it easy for a while and focus on getting healthier."
"We'll make sure that she does, Kayla." John promised her.
Kayla nodded. "Alright, I'm going home for the night. I advise you all to do the same. My colleagues from the night shift will take care of Sami if anything comes up."
"I promised Sami I would stay with her, Kayla." Marlena said, looking at her sleeping daughter. There was no way she could break that promise.
"Marlena, you know that it's against hospital regulations to stay with a patient overnight." Kayla scolded her.
"I do know that but Sami panicked as soon as I stood up to talk to John. So in the best interest of the patient, your niece, I believe we can make an exception." Marlena argued but Kayla still seemed unsure. "We both know the night shift will just sedate her again if she wakes up in a panic and that might mean she'll have to stay here longer, costing the hospital more money and resources."
"And I'm sure the hospital board would agree with Marlena." EJ warned, walking into the room. "Will it be necessary for me to reach out to them, Doctor Johnson?"
Kayla sighed in defeat. "I'll have the nurses roll in an extra bed for you." She said, looking at Marlena.
"Thank you, Kayla." Marlena told her and Kayla nodded before leaving the room.
"I'll go catch a few hours of sleep on the couch in your office, Doc." John offered. He did not want to go home leaving Marlena and Sami in the hospital.
"John, you don't have to do that." Marlena told him.
"I know but I want to." John told her firmly so she wouldn't argue any further.
"Dad, I want to stay with mom too." Johnny told his father but his father had his attention on his mother and was currently staring at her intensely. "Dad, are you okay?" Johnny tried again but his father still didn't hear him. "Dad!" He almost yelled and that got his father's attention.
"What, Johnny?" EJ asked his son, a little irritated, turning to look at him.
"I knew it. You're still in love with mom." Johnny blurted out, confronting his father.
"What? What makes you think that?" EJ asked, shocked at the sudden accusation.
"You've been worried sick about mom and just now you were staring at her with this sad look on your face. You didn't even hear me when I talked to you." Johnny explained, daring him to deny it.
EJ felt very uncomfortable talking to his son about this, especially with John and Marlena also looking at him. "Johnny, your mother made it very clear that she'll never forgive me. And I'm married to Nicole now, end of story."
"You're not even denying it though." Johnny remarked.
"Okay enough with this." EJ warned him. "What is it you wanted to tell me?" He asked, changing the subject.
"That I want to stay here tonight, with mom." Johnny said, again. "I can sleep in a chair."
"Johnny, I understand that but I think your grandparents have it handled." EJ told him.
"We do." Marlena agreed with EJ. "But I promise I'll call you if anything changes." She added, looking at Johnny.
Johnny was still a little unsure. "Grandma, mom already thinks that I don't want her around…"
"I'm sure that's not true, Honey. Your mom is just not really thinking clearly right now." Marlena tried to reassure him but that didn't seem to work.
"How about his: we go home and get some sleep right now and then when Sydney lands in about 6 hours we'll pick her up from the airport and go straight to the hospital." EJ offered. "That way we'll probably be back here before your mother wakes up again."
"Okay, fine." Johnny half-heartedly agreed. He did still have to tell Chanel about everything that happened that day.
"EJ, thank you for your help today but just to be clear I don't think you need to be back here tomorrow. Sami needs as little stress as possible right now." Marlena warned him.
EJ nodded, it was not like Marlena's request was unexpected. "Fine, I'll just drop the children off and be on my way." He agreed somberly.