Oh Ms Believer

12. Jenna

Sam stayed in the hospital until Friday morning. She spent most of that time resting, sleeping, and texting her friends and her teammates.

Some of the Hornets came to visit. Jill and Erin came almost every day.

"You suck," Jill smiled at Sam the first day she was able to come visit. "You just wanted a whole extra week of spring break."

"Oh yeah. I got pneumonia for shits and giggles," Sam laughed, and then coughed. It still sounded thick and she was still coughing up globs of phlegm, but they were much smaller and much less... gross.

Tyler and I split our time with the little girls at home and with Sam in the hospital. Brendon and Sarah spent their days with Sam at the hospital and came back to the house at night.

Brendon joked with her that her plan to keep them in Ohio worked but that he really needed to get back to work.

"You know, they have houses and recording studios here in Ohio," Sam tried.

"And snow," Brendon said. "And cold."

"And me, and Junie and Rosie. And Mom and Dad. The best people are here," Sam reasoned.

"Hard to argue, but you know my life is in California. You know you're always welcome to visit. And there are great colleges in California. With good basketball teams."

Sam looked like she was contemplating that. I didn't know how I felt about her going to college out of state. But if she did, I know she'd be fine in California. She'd have Brendon and Sarah keeping an eye on her. Tyler, however was pushing for Ohio State. He didn't want her applying to any college that wasn't in Ohio. Illinois and Kentucky were acceptable.

Friday morning, when we brought Sam home, Rosie ran up to her and wrapped herself around Sam's leg as she stood in the entryway.

"Hi, Rosie Posey," Sam smiled down at her sister.

"Hi Sammy. I missed you. No more get sick. Okay?"

"I'll try, RosieRo," she smiled.

"Good," Rosie said, as if that was the end of the conversation and Sam would never, ever get sick again. I wished it was that simple.

"Alright, Sam. Rest. Upstairs or the couch?"

"I really missed my own bed," Sam said.

"I got it!" Brendon said, and swept Sam up into his arms. Her crutches hung from her arms. She laughed. Tyler grabbed her crutches and followed the two of them upstairs.

About twenty minutes later, Tyler and Brendon came back downstairs.

"All good?" I asked.

"She's asleep. We'll wake her for lunch," Tyler said. I nodded. She needed the rest.

I spent the morning with the little girls, fighting alligators in Rosie's playroom and eventually moving outside where the sun was shining and it was actually somewhat warm out. Warm enough to sit outside with the girls, anyway.

Junie slept on me, Tyler and Brendon sat by our outdoor fireplace and Rosie was Rosie.

It was a perfect morning. Our family was all under one roof again and Sam was recovering. All being well, she'd be back at school come Monday.

"Mom?" I heard Sam open the back door.

"Yeah, hon? Everything okay?" I asked. Sam was still in her pyjamas.

"Yeah," she said, crutching her way outside. She sat in the lounger beside me. "It's just really quiet in the house when everyone is out here."

I opened the big blanket I had myself and Junie wrapped in and indicated Sam should come cuddle with us. She shuffled over and I pulled her into a hug and wrapped the blanket around her. I kissed her head, so happy to have her home.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Okay," Sam yawned. "Still tired. But okay."

"You just rest, baby. You have all weekend to relax, rest, recover. Okay?"

She nodded and snuggled in closer. I smiled.

No one knows this, but sometimes I wonder where Samantha would be if she hadn't run into that rainstorm almost four years ago. If she hadn't run into our backyard. If I hadn't insisted Tyler check the motion light. If we'd just called the ambulance and let them take the sick, soaked and unconscious teenager off our hands.

I couldn't imagine our lives without our oldest daughter. I couldn't imagine her not being Junie and Rosie's sister.

No matter what life threw at us, we'd faced it together, as a family. We'd helped Samantha learn to trust people. And then again after her birth father kidnapped her and stole her already tenuous trust in others.

We'd worked so hard to be right where we were right now. It wasn't perfect. Samantha still had a lot of issues to work through, but Doc said she was doing amazingly well. And she was. We had so few of those outbursts we'd had at first when her diabetes wasn't as well controlled, when she struggled to dose her insulin properly, when she didn't know she could trust us to still love her when she lost control and acted out.

I often wondered whether Samantha realized how much she'd grown in just the past four years. Things were harder for her now. But she pushed through every time. She didn't expect the world to adapt to her. She adapted herself to the world.

Watching Samantha with her sisters was always, always memorable. Her bond with Rosie just kept strengthening. They just... understood each other. They were both so protective of Junie and I always knew she was in good hands if I needed to step out.

"Mom?" Sam mumbled from my shoulder.

"Yes, baby?"

"Junie's hungry," she muttered.

"What?" I asked, just as Junie started making noises.

I looked at her incredulously. Was it possible?

"No, I'm not 'psychic'," Sam said. "It's two. She always eats at two."

"I know someone else who should have eaten a while ago. Come on, teenager. Let's get you inside, too."

I brought Junie inside to feed her, and Samantha made herself some lunch. Rosie came in asking for a snack so Sam made her a small sandwich, too. Sarah and I had coffee and chatted with Sam while Rosie hummed over her sandwich and Junie was fed.

I looked over at Samantha, talking with Sarah but also focusing on her sister. She amazed me. She looked up and smiled back at me. It was such an easy smile. And I remembered when it wasn't so easy for her.