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