Jess. Jess's face broke into a huge grin and Frank and Cheryl smiled widely.
"So how do you think we should work this?" Frank asked. "We don't want to
leave Sam here alone."
Sam was totally confused, she felt like there was a conversation going on she
wasn't hearing.
"Someone want to tell me what's going on?" she asked looking at four far from
innocent faces.
"Nothing." Jess said unconvincingly.
"Fine." Sam said. She wasn't in the mood to play games with her sister. "You and Kim take my bed. Frank and Cheryl can have the guest room and I'll sleep
on the couch. Since it's such a good TIME for us all to be together." She said
looking directly at Kim emphasizing the word time as she had.
Kim looked away and Sam knew for sure she was hiding something. She just
didn't know what.
"No, we can't take your bed." Jess said sounding disappointed. "You just got out of the hospital yesterday."
Sam didn't ask what was going on but now she knew it was something
important. One look at her sister's face told her that.
"It's no big deal... really Sis," Sam insisted. "You know how comfortable this couch is you've slept on it enough."
Jess smiled at Sam. "Are you sure?" Sam nodded. "Thanks Sis."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dinner was a quiet affair. Sam could sense the underlying tension in the air but
was too involved with her own problems to really question her siblings. They'd all
gathered in the living room and watched a movie Jess rented. Sam didn't pay
much attention to it. She truly was tired her roiling emotions taking their toll on
her. Everyone finally decided to call it a night. Everyone left the living room
except Jess she wanted to check Sam's incision just to be assured that she
really was healing well. After she was done, she sat on the couch next to her
sister.
"How are you really doing?" She asked Sam. She tilted Sam's head up forcing
her to meet her eyes.
"Okay I guess. I'm still sore but it gets better every day. I'm supposed to start
physical therapy on Monday." She told Jess.
"That's good but that's not what I was talking about."
"I know." Sam acknowledged. "I just don't understand. I know she has feelings for me but is just so hung up on not getting involved with a patient. I really care
about her Jess... it hurts. I just don't know what to do."
"Maybe you just need to give her some time. Then approach her again."
"I don't know if I could take it if she turned me away again." Sam said her voice cracking.
"You don't have to make a decision tonight. You just got out of the hospital. Give
yourself some time to heal then decide where you want to go with this." Jess
suggested.
"I know it's just hard. I want to march into that hospital and shake some sense
into her. Make her see what she's giving up without a fight." Sam sighed putting
her arm over her face.
"I know Kiddo, just hang in there for awhile, and don't make any big decisions."
The two sisters hugged before getting up to make up the couch for Sam.
"Are you sure you're going to be alright out here?" Jess asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Want to tell me what's going on?"
Jess grinned. "Not yet... but soon." With that, she walked away before Sam
could ask any more questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sam's eyes popped open. Something had awakened her. It was dark but the hall
light was on. She lifted up and looked down the hallway. Frank was standing
outside her bedroom door talking quietly to Jess. She watched as her brother
passed something to Jess but she couldn't make out what it was. He leaned
over and kissed her on the cheek before returning to the guest room. Jess stood
silently in the hall for several moments before turning and entering Sam's
bedroom. Sam heard the click of the latch as it locked. She lay back down
wondering what the hell that had been all about.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The siblings and their spouses spent a quiet Sunday with Sam. She was still
depressed over the situation with Riley but did her best to appear normal to her
family. She was happy to note no one pressured her for information about it. She
knew that had to be Kim's doing and silently thanked her for it. She was
surprised when Kim and Jess decided to spend Sunday night and leave early in
the morning Monday to return to LA. She'd tried to convince Frank and Cheryl
that she was fine and didn't need them to stay. They insisted on staying until her
regular doctor gave her the go ahead to drive and since she still had some
trouble getting around, she grudgingly agreed.
Sam was sleeping on the couch when she was again awakened by noises in the
hall. She lifted up and saw Jess and Frank in the hall just like the previous
night. What in the hell are they up to? She wondered to herself. Frank again
passed something over to Jess, kissed her on the cheek and headed back into
the guest room. Sam's curiosity was overflowing and she bit her lip to keep from
calling out to her sister. If they wanted me to know, they'd tell me. She thought
sighing as she lay back down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kim and Jess left bright and early to head home. Sam wasn't able to get Kim
alone to ask her what was going on. She knew something was happening. Kim
was positively glowing and Jess looked like she was walking on air. Add to that
the fact that Frank had a huge grin on his face. Sam was about to explode with
curiosity. Kim and Jess promised to come back the following weekend and Sam
swore to herself she'd get Kim alone and find out just what the hell was going
on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The week had passed slowly for Sam. She was tired of being cooped up and
had moped around most of the week. She just couldn't seem to let go of the
thing with Riley. The redhead slipped into her thoughts and dreams constantly.
Frank had taken her to her physical therapy appointments during the week. She
was exhausted after her sessions with the therapist and swore the man must've
worked in a torture chamber in a previous life. Her therapy took place at the
hospital and she found herself scanning the crowds of people as she navigated
the halls hoping to see Riley. At the same time, she prayed she wouldn't run into
her. The constant churning of her emotions was taking its toll on her. She wasn't
sleeping well and only eating when Frank or Cheryl insisted. She knew she
couldn't go on like this but just didn't know what to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was finally Friday. Frank had driven her to her doctor's appointment. She'd
hoped she would give her the go ahead to start driving. She loved her brother
and Cheryl but was ready to have her apartment back and try and return to her
life. She looked up when the nurse called her name.
"Dr. Shafer will see you now."
Sam made her way into the exam room and removed her sweats before
climbing up on the table. The door swung open just as she was getting settled
and Dr. Shafer walked in. She was in her mid-fifties with shoulder length brown
hair and dark brown eyes that seemed to sparkle. Her figure was still trim but
starting to show that middle age spread. Sam had seen her on Monday for the
final okay to start her physical therapy.
"Hi Sam, How are you doing today?" she asked.
"Not too bad. The physical therapy is a bitch. I swear Tony gets too much
enjoyment out of working other people to death."
Dr. Shafer laughed. "Oh you got Tony huh. He'll have you up and running again
in no time, he's tough but one of the best. Now let's have a look at that leg."
Dr. Shafer completed her exam and left while Sam got dressed. She returned to
the room and sat down obviously wanting to talk.
"Everything looks good Sam. I'd estimate a few more weeks of physical therapy
then you should be able to go back to light duty. So how are you doing
otherwise? Sleeping well? Eating?"
Sam squirmed slightly. She'd been a patient of Dr. Shafer's for several years and
the woman knew her well. She debated lying but knew the doctor would call her
on it.
"I haven't been sleeping that great and I eat ok... I guess." She hedged.
"It's not uncommon for officers who have been injured in the line of duty to
require some counseling. I'd be more than happy to set you up with a good
counselor I know."
Sam looked uncomfortable. She really didn't want to talk about Riley. For all she
knew Dr. Shafer knew the surgeon.
"It's not that, just some personal things I'd really rather not talk about. I just need some time to work things out."
Dr. Shafer waited until Sam finally met her eyes. She stared into Sam's eyes and
seemed satisfied with what she saw.
"Okay but if you change your mind let me know." She started to walk out the
door then turned. "Oh you can drive, just no long trips and don't overexert
yourself." She warned.
Sam smiled for the first time since entering the office. "Thanks Doc."
Chapter Six
Sam walked down the corridor heading for the cafeteria after having completed
her therapy. She was hot, tired, and sweaty; Tony had worked her hard. She'd
been out of the hospital for two weeks and happy to finally ditch the crutches,
she tried to use the cane he'd provided as little as possible. Frank and Cheryl
had left the previous Sunday to return to San Francisco so she'd been driving
herself to her therapy appointments all week. Jess and Kim had also spent the
weekend in San Diego then driven Frank and Cheryl to the airport on their way
back to Los Angeles. She had tried several times over the weekend to corner
Kim to find out what had gone on the previous weekend but the blond had
managed to avoid being alone with her. After seeing another meeting of Frank
and Jess in the hall, she'd tried to ask Jess about it but she conveniently
changed the subject. Sam had finally given up figuring they'd tell her when they
were ready. She appreciated everything her siblings had done for her but was
happy to have her space again. She still wasn't sleeping well and the well
meaning but constant hovering by her brother and his wife had been getting on
her nerves. She was still plagued with recurring dreams of Riley and couldn't
seem to get the beautiful redhead out of her thoughts no matter how hard she
tried. Just forget it Sam, she doesn't want anything to do with you. She reminded
herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Riley had just completed an extensive surgery on a car accident victim. She was
tired and sweaty and just wanted something cold to drink. The machine upstairs
was out of order so she headed for the cafeteria. The last two weeks had taken
an emotional toll on her. She couldn't get thoughts of Sam out of her head and
had come to the realization she'd made a terrible mistake. She had been
miserable the last two weeks knowing she'd thrown something precious aside
using the excuse of not getting involved with a patient. The truth was Sam
McKenna scared her, she stirred feelings in her she didn't know she was
capable of feeling. She dreamed repeatedly of the beautiful cop and woke each
time soaked and incredibly aroused. She'd always considered herself to have an
almost non-existent sex drive until Sam entered her life. It wasn't just about the
sexual thoughts either; she missed the woman something fierce. She hadn't
realized how much she'd looked forward to and enjoyed their conversations.
Just being around the woman had made her feel good. She'd gone as far as
going down to patient affairs and pulling Sam's admission records to get her
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