She's startled, this had never happened before. Two large eyes stare at her.
« She's awake! Can you blink? »
Samantha tries, she doesn't know if she's successful but the the lady in front of her laughs, when she fully opens her eyes, she realizes the lady is her cousin.
« Que bella! » The doctor exclaims and goes off into a rant in a language she does not recognize.
Italian, something in her tell her it's Italian, she's in Italy and she was in an accident.
« We can remove the respirator. » The man says in an accent to her cousin who nods crying and cupping her hands over her mouth.
Her cousin takes out a phone.
« Uncle Frank! She's awake! »
There is crying and laughing and after the respirator is taken out her mouth hurts, her trachea hurts, her chest hurts and she feels heavy.
« Where am I? » she slurs out and the doctor looks away over to Blake.
« Sam you've been here for three months. » Blake clarifies but that is not the question she asked.
« Where are my friends and my family... Where is she? » She asks again and it's hard to speak. Her mouth hurts and her words jumble and she can't lift her arms.
« You have to rest. » The doctor says calmly to her.
Rest? She's been resting for ... three months? The accident, she knew it. In her subconscious she knew it but it all comes rushing back now. The semi, the car, the lady on the road. She remembers darkness and cold and her agent saying « What's going o... »
« Where is she? » She asks again, she feels lost and it feels like those are the only words that can come out her mouth.
« Who? » Blake answers.
Samantha tries to sit up, her arms wobble and pain shoots all up her spine. She cries out.
« Sam, don't get up. You need to rest. » Her cousin exclaims trying to catch her from an imaginary fall.
« Miss Gates, resta. » The doctor tries again in a weird mix of English and Italian. She's never even heard that word before.
Her mouth is shaking and her tongue is dry, she feels out of energy but she wants to ask again.
« Where is Cassidy? » she asks using all her energy.
« She's not here. » Her mother comes and shuts down the words that were on the tip of her cousin's mouth.
Samantha feels tired, her eyes are heavy, her eyes are closing. She's falling asleep again. She can hear her dad starting « We'll call Cass.. » but her ears start ringing and she can't hear the last few words. She's tired, so tired. She'll try again tomorrow.

Cassidy smiles like she never did before. She is at work, it's just the beginning of the day but this time she doesn't pay attention if her employees see her smiling. Frank just called, Samantha has woken up, and then fell asleep again. She flies as soon as possible to Milan, it's only a matter of time until she sees her again. She can't explain how she feels, it's a mix of joy, relief and sadness, and impatience too. The flight is the longest she has ever taken, god knows she flew out the country a lot. She arrives to the hospital some long hours after, all eyes are on her as she steps in in her oversized sunglasses and her long Balenciaga coat. It's a rollercoaster, she steps into Samantha's hospital room with a smile to see that there is still hope out there. She is peacefully sleeping, she watches her for god knows how long until some people step in the room.
« Doctors were optimistic. » Sierra says behind her as Cassidy turns around.
« Were? Aren't they still? » Cassidy frowns.
« Less. » She says nodding.
Blake fidgets her fingers.
« But they said if she has woken up one time, she can do it again. » She tries with a reassuring smile, but her eyes speaks otherwise.
« So what now? » Cassidy asks again in an angry tone.
She feels angry doctors couldn't save her on time, she knows they could have.
« There is brain activity, they put her on respirator again but she fell into coma again 10 minutes after she woke up. It's up to her to decide if she wakes up. » Frank explains.
Cassidy turns around to Samantha again as she sighs. Her only wish is that she was there when it happened to keep her awake and to fight for it.
« She asked about you by the time she woke up. » Blake says.
Cassidy closes her eyes, the only noise they can hear in the room is Samantha's heavy breathing through the respirator.
« I will ask for her to be transferred to New York. I know some good doctors who I know are able help her more. » She breathes.
Sierra takes a step forward.
« It's not up to doctors. She'll not wake up sooner there than here, it'll just be risky as she is already settled here. » She says refusing.
« Don't you want her to wake up? » Cassidy glances.
« You're not the only one to want her alive and well. » She bites.
« Well it seems like I am. » The editor bites back flatly.
She never needs to express her anger through her voice, her eyes always say it all. Sierra opens her mouth to reply but Frank makes a step forward.
« Samantha would not want this. » He stops them from a possible coming argument. « We appreciate what you want to do to help her Cassidy, but I really believe the only thing we can do is wait and see. »
Cassidy leaves Sierra's glance and looks at Frank, she sighs.
« Alright. »
They keep talking for some time until Frank and Sierra say goodbye, leaving Blake and Cassidy alone. They talk for some time about Blake's mother and how she is very alike to Sierra, then Cassidy is forced to interrupt the conversation to answer a phone call from Lucy. She stays on the phone for a minute or two, it seems like there is an emergency at Wardrobe but Cassidy tells Lucy to find a way to handle it before she hangs up.
« I'm sorry, it was a call from my employee. » She apologizes to Blake.
Blake is fidgeting her fingers around the table lunch.
« You don't have to apologize, I imagine you have a lot of things to do at Wardrobe. » She smiles. « I read your magazine on the daily, actually. »
The flattered editor tilts her head on the side and gives her a smirk.
« Really? »
She nods.
« I started reading it when Samantha was writing reviews and I never stopped since. I have to say, it is quite addicting. »
« Are you into fashion? » She asks.
Her eyes analyzes the woman in front of her, she has got some features from Sierra that Samantha haven't, she is a real beauty. She is not wearing much makeup and her style is not ugly but not life-changing, she only wears simple items like a blue jean and a black top.
« I happen to enjoy watching runways from Fashion week, but it stops there. » She laughs.
Cassidy chuckles.
« That's a good start. »
They keep talking during lunch time for about an hour, then Blake asks Cassidy if she wishes to have some time with Samantha alone before she goes back to New York. She usually stays more than two days, but this time her venue was unexpected and her daughters are waiting for her home with Emily. Obviously Cassidy thanks Samantha's cousin for the lunch and then goes to Samantha once again.

It's funny that each time she opens the door of the hospital bedroom she finds herself hoping to find Samantha awake, smiling at her from the bed. She silently walks and sits on the chair next to Samantha.
« I miss you so very much. » She whispers.
There is obviously no response from the younger woman, the room is dead-silent when Cassidy is not talking. It's ironic how Samantha always used to be the one to make funny jokes each time Cassidy was being quiet in the room, she would always find a way to start a conversation and keep it going.
« You sure know how to make someone miss you, of all the people in the universe you had to be the one to make me break my promise of never falling truly in love. » She smiles now.
She wonders how Samantha managed to make her fall in love with her, maybe she did it on purpose, or maybe it was totally unexpected to both of them. There is something about Samantha that is so effortlessly beautiful, intriguing and deep, something that no one has but her. She is not a superficial person, she is herself and that must be what Cassidy had fallen for in the first place.
She sits softly on the side of the bed, she holds the woman's hand for what seems like an eternity.
« I wish you were awake with me, I wish you could hear me say how much I love you. And how much I regret what happened in the past. That I want everything with you, from here until the end of time... » She pauses. She knows that stuff only happens in movies.
« Wake up. » she says softly.
It is so much more than two simple words, those are a desperate beg.
« Wake up Samantha, come back to me. »
She finds it silly to speak with such vulnerability to a woman who might not even be able to hear what she says, but she can not stop.
« Come back to me? »

The flight back to New York is exhausting, she arrives to the townhouse late in the night and guesses everyone in the house is sleeping. She heads up to her room and immediately falls on the king-sized bed in the middle of the huge bedroom. She has not taken off her clothes and removed her makeup yet that she closes her eyes and almost falls asleep immediately, when she feels arms enveloping her slowly. She opens her eyes but doesn't see anything because of the darkness in the room. But she could recognize Alexandra's embrace even in the dark.
« Why aren't you sleeping Alexandra? » She whispers with a tired voice.
« I can't. » She answers whispering.
« Why is that? »
« I can't sleep knowing you sad. » She drops as she hugs her mother tightly on the bed.
Cassidy bites her inner lip.
« I am okay sweetie. You can sleep. »
It is obviously a lie. Truth is she is not okay, and she failed at hiding it from her girls.
« No mom you are not. » Alexandra replies. « I know it is hard for you about Samantha and all the work, it was selfish to get mad at you for that. I'm so sorry. » She says as a tear falls down her cheek.
Cassidy squeezes Alexandra's cheek and wipes the tear away with her thumb through the dark.
« It's okay baby. I am sorry if I wasn't there when you needed me home. » She says softly.
« Will you try to be home with us more? » Alexandra asks in a little voice, a voice full of hope and wisdom that did not deserve to be broken.
« I will. » She nods.
Alexandra sniffs as she grabs the sheets to cover both her and her mom.
« I love you so much mom. » She says as she can't control her eyes that are closing.
Cassidy leans forward to kiss her forehead with a loving kiss.
« I love you too. Now get some sleep, it's very late. » Cassidy says.
« Can I sleep here? » Alexandra asks with a smile.
Cassidy nods and pulls her daughter even closer to her as they both fall asleep into an endless hug.