Life Lost and Love Gained Ch. 02

"He was just dropping me off when your mom called and I was too upset to drive," Sara answered defensively.

"Relax Sar, I'm glad he drove you, I wouldn't have wanted you to get in an accident," Sam said, holding his hands up with a grin.

"How are you feeling?" Sara asked, alarmed at how pale he looked.

"I'm fine Sara, it's just pneumonia," Sam answered.

"Just pneumonia my ass! That's like saying, I'm fine, it's just Leukemia," Sara said, returning to sarcasm.

"I'm going to be fine Sara, I promise," Sam murmured, correctly interpreting the look on her face.

"That's what David said," Sara whispered. Sam reached out and took Sara's hand.

"I'm not David. I'm not going anywhere," Sam promised.

"When your mom called, my heart just about stopped," Sara told him, her voice soft.

"I'm okay Sara, really. I'm just having a hard time kicking this bug," Sam assured her. They both looked up as Deborah walked into the room. "Mom, what is it?" Sam asked, not bothering to hide his irritation.

"Sara, your parents are here," Deborah told Sara. Sara swallowed hard, panic setting in. "They still disapprove of you dating Sam don't they?" Deborah asked. Sara nodded.

"Deborah, no matter what you and Jacob hear me tell my parents, I love Sam," Sara murmured. Deborah nodded and looked up as her husband appeared in the doorway.

"Sara, your parents would like to see you," Jacob said. Sara glanced at Sam who gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before Sara left the room.

~~~~~~~~

"Hi," Sara said.

"What are you doing here Sara?" Ben asked.

"I'm visiting Sam, I heard he was sick," Sara answered.

"Are you and Sam still fucking?" Ben wanted to know. Sara's eyes widened and she blushed, glanced at Shawn who looked embarrassed for her.

"Mom, Dad, this is Shawn, my lab partner and my boyfriend," Sara introduced, changing the subject. Ben looked annoyed at that, Joyce looked relived and Shawn looked confused for a moment, but when he caught a glimpse of Sara's face, he shrugged it off.

"How long have you been dating?" Joyce asked.

"A few weeks," Sara lied.

"Sara Grace Levine, why didn't you say anything?" Joyce wanted to know.

"Because it's my life and none of your business," Sara said grumpily, still pissed about the way her parents handled her relationship with Sam. Sara looked up as Kelsey ran off the elevator.

"Kel!" Sara exclaimed, giving her friend a hug.

"Oh God Sara, how's Sam? I came as soon as I heard!" Kelsey panted.

"Sam's making bad jokes," Sara said with a giggle. Kelsey breathed a sigh of relief and glanced curiously at Shawn.

"I think we're going to go see Sam," Joyce told them before leading her husband away.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you here to tell Sara that she can't be friends with me?" Sam asked.

"No," Joyce said.

"Then why?" Sam asked.

"Sam, we want to clarify why we told Sara she couldn't be in a relationship with you." Sam waited for Joyce to continue. "We don't want Sara to be hurt by the death of someone else she loves. She's already lost David this year and Leslie died last year and Ruth isn't doing well," Joyce said gently. Sam nodded, the loss of his friends weighed deeply on his mind.

"I love Sara," Sam said quietly.

"We know that. We knew that from the way you looked at her during David's funeral," Ben chimed in. "If you didn't have CF Sam, we would encourage your relationship with Sara," he added.

"Yeah, but at least you don't have to worry about me getting Sara pregnant," Sam reminded Ben. Ben shuddered at the thought and Sam chuckled. Sam groaned as the chuckle turned into a cough. Joyce poured Sam a glass of water and helped him drink.

"We won't allow you and Sara to date, or have sex, we don't want her to be hurt if you don't recover from a future illness, she's lost too many loved ones already, but we won't oppose the friendship you had before David died," Joyce told him gently. Sam sighed but nodded.

"I understand, but I don't like it, and if Sara decides to date me, or even allow me to make love to her, you can't stop her," Sam reminded Joyce.

"We'll transfer Sara out of state if we have to," Ben threatened. Sam sighed again. "Don't make us do that," he added before leading his wife from the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You must be Shawn," Sam said as he and Sara walked into the room.

"Sam, you should rest, you look exhausted," Sara told him.

"I will. After the three of us talk," Sam promised.

"It's nice to meet you, I just wish it were under ..." Shawn began.

"Different circumstances, yeah, I know. Look, I'm going to cut to the chase because as Sara pointed out, I'm exhausted. Sara, your parents threatened to move you out of state if we started seeing each other again. I'm guessing you told them Shawn was your boyfriend," Sam began. Sara blushed and nodded. "It's okay, I understand why you said it. It was good thinking. Now, Shawn, if it's okay with you, this is what we're going to do," Sam added. Sara grinned when she heard Sam's plan.

"Shawn?" Sara asked softly.

"I'll go along with it for now," Shawn said finally. Sara gave him a soft smile before pressing a kiss to Sam's forehead, the crinkle of the paper mask breaking the soft silence of the room.

"Sleep," she murmured, standing up and leading Shawn from the room.