DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of the chars from TBAA. They belong to Martha Williamson. Anyone you don’t recognize, I do own. I also own Monica’s special name for Gloria. If anyone would like to use any of these OC’s, please ask my permission first.
Thanks
God loves you

A/N: This story is really taking off! I hope everyone likes this next chapter!

Chapter 10

Rose and Samantha, along with Gloria, arrived back at the apartment a little before five that evening.

Once Sammie had drunken a little more apple juice, Rebecca had taken the IV out and declared her well enough to go home.

She explained that Samantha would need rest for the next few days and she should talk as little as possible. This was so her throat had a chance to heal.

As for her diet restrictions, Dr. Reiner explained that Rose could give her all the ice cream she wanted as well as yogurt. She also suggested rice and other soft foods for now.

She assured Roes that if Sammie wasn’t up for eating anything for a day or so, not to worry.

“Keeping her hydrated is the best thing right now.” She had told her. She also explained that if Samantha got sick a few times later on, not to let it worry her.

It was all part of the after affects of the anesthesia.

“The only way you would have to bring her back in is if she spiked a fever above 101.2.” Dr. Reiner had explained.

Rose listened carefully to everything Dr. Reiner said as did Gloria.

The youngest angel had promised to help out as much as she could. She also reminded Rose that Monica would help as well.

“In fact,” she said as they were driving back to the apartment, “why don’t you guys spend sometime in our apartment tonight? That way if you need any help, we’re there. And you’ll have company.” She smiled at Rose, who returned it.

“That sounds like a good idea.” Rose said. “Thanks.”

“No thanks needed.” Gloria assured her as they pulled into the apartment building back at BISM.

When they returned, they went straight to Monica and Gloria’s apartment.

The minute Monica saw them walk in, she grew concerned.

“What happened?” She asked. “Tess told me that you had to take Sammie to the ER this morning.”

Rose let Gloria tell the story while she got Samantha settled.

“We’ll go back upstairs in a little while.” She told her. “So you can sleep in your own bed tonight. How does that sound?”

Samantha smiled at this, which gave Rose the impression she liked the idea.

“You just rest here for a little bit. In a little while, you can have some ice cream.”

Gloria gasped.

“That sounds yummy, huh, Sammie? Do you like vanilla?”

Sammie nodded. She gave Gloria a small smile before getting comfortable in Rose’s lap and closing her eyes once again.

“So how did she handle everything?” Monica asked the minute Sammie was in dreamland for the time being.

“She did really well up until right before she had to go in. But after I calmed her down and assured her I would be there when she woke up, she was better.”

Monica smiled.

“I don’t doubt it. How about you? Are you okay?”

Rose shrugged.

“I’ll be okay once Sammie feels better. I hate seeing her like this. I’ve only known her for a little over a month and already it feels like she’s been with me my whole life.”

“That’s what you call a situation that was meant to be.” Monica explained. She went about the task of making Rose something to eat as she talked.

Rose tried to say she didn’t have to, but Monica insisted she didn’t mind.

Once the sandwiches were made, the three adults sat down for a small meal of their own.

Rose stayed close by Sammie, but she did manage to eat what Monica had prepared.

“Maybe I should call and let the people at school know I won’t be in until at least Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.” Rose thought aloud.

“Don’t worry about that.” Gloria assured her. “Tess took care of it.”

Rose shook her head. She had a feeling she was going to have problems nonetheless.

Around eight o’ clock, Rose thanked Monica and Gloria for everything and she and Sammie headed upstairs.

The child had managed to eat some ice cream once she had woken up, but she was still really sore.

Arriving upstairs, Rose tucked Sammie in before she went about the task of putting some things away.

After that was done, she returned to her little sister’s side.

“So how about it?” She said while stroking her hair. “Want me to put on a movie for you? You slept pretty well in Gloria’s apartment.”

“Please?” Sammie asked tiredly.

“Aw, how can I say no when you asked me so nicely.” Rose teased slightly. She ruffled Sammie’s hair before getting up and going over to the movies she had brought with her. She was about to ask Sammie what she wanted to watch, when she got an idea.

She put the DVD into the player and selected something on the menu. After that was done, she pressed play and waited.

Once the familiar theme music started playing, Sammie’s eyes lit up a little.

“I guess I don’t have to ask you if you know what that is.” Rose guessed with a giggle.

“You didn’t tell me you had Ariel’s TV Series.” Sammie said as the episode “Stormy” started playing.

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” She said with a smile. “Were you surprised?”

Sammie nodded.

“Metai.” She said, speaking in Nyatec for the first time since she had come to live with Rose.

“I’m glad.” Rose said. “I love you, Sammie. I hope you know that.”

Sammie nodded.

As though to emphasize her knowledge of that fact, she snuggled closer to Rose as her sister put her arm around her.

Two episodes later, Sammie had eaten some apple sauce and had drunken some more juice.

She was now watching “Wish Upon a Starfish” while resting comfortably in Rose’s lap.

Rose explained that after one more episode, it was time for bed. It was almost ten-thirty and Sammie still needed lots of rest.

“Okay.” Sammie said with a frown.

“You can watch more tomorrow.” She assured her.

This got Sammie to smile.

Once “Save the Whale” was over, Rose turned off the DVD player and prepared to get Sammie ready for bed.

The little girl gave her a hopeful look.

“Can we watch one more, please?” She asked.

“I’m afraid not.” Rose replied. “You can watch more tomorrow. It’s time for bed now. You need your rest. But I’ll tell you what. I have another surprise for you. But you need to cooperate with me and get ready for bed like a big girl before I can give it to you.”

“Okay.” Sammie replied softly.

“Aw, that’s my girl.” With that, Rose started to help Sammie get ready.

She helped her change into a new set of Ariel pj’s.

When Sammie asked why she couldn’t where the ones Rebecca had given her, Rose explained they had to be washed.

Sammie accepted this answer easily.

After the little girl was tucked in bed, Rose put the surprise she had for her in the CD player.

Sammie didn’t get it at first.

“This is just the Splash Hits CD we saw at the store.” She reminded her sister.

“Not necessarily.” Rose told her. With that, she flipped to a song that wasn’t on the regular version of the CD.

When the song “Daring to Dance’ came on, Sammie grinned.

“How did you do that?” She asked.

“I put this CD together about two years ago.” Rose explained. “Pretty neat, huh?”

“I’ll say.” Sammie agreed. “May I have one?”

Rose grinned.

“This is yours.” She told her. She presented Sammie with a CD that looked like Splash Hits, but she could tell it was different right away.

While the front was the same, the back had a few more songs listed, while others had been taken off.

“Thanks.” Sammie said just as a yawn escaped her lips.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I’m glad you like it.” With that, Rose tucked Sammie in for the night.

She explained she would be there if Sammie needed her.

“I know.” Sammie said confidently as her eyes closed. “I love you, Rose.”

“I love you too, Sammie. I love you too. Sweet dreams, sis.” With that, she took to stroking Samantha’s hair until the child was fast asleep once again.

A few minutes after Samantha had fallen asleep, Rose’s cell phone rang.

She recognized the ring as Anne and picked it up almost immediately.

She didn’t want to leave Sammie, so she talked softly in an effort not to wake her up.

“Aloha.” She said as she sat in her computer chair.

“Hi!” Anne greeted. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much.” Rose replied. “Unless you count Sammie having her tonsils out and us spending almost the whole day in the hospital.”

“What!” Anne shouted.

“Shh.” Rose hissed. “She just fell asleep.”

“Sorry.” Anne apologized. “Is she all right now?”

“She will be.” Rose told her. “She just needs rest. I’m not going in until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. I want to make sure she’s better before I go back to that place.”

“I hear you.” Anne said.

The two friends talked for a little while before Rose said she had to go. She wanted to check on Sammie once more before going to sleep herself.

After she hung up with Anne, she took a bathroom break before climbing into bed beside her sister.

Putting an episode of “Punky Brewster” on low for herself, she pulled Sammie close and tried her best to get some sleep of her own.

The day had been a long one for both of them and they both needed their rest…

The weekend flew by quickly for Rose and Sammie.

Gloria checked on them regularly and would often spend some time with them before going back downstairs to read and get ready for the next week.

Rose and Anne talked on the phone a few times on Saturday and once or twice on Sunday.

At one point, Rose reminded Anne as nicely as she could that she had to take care of Sammie due to Anne calling her twice right after they had talked last.

As for Samantha, she was getting better every day.

By Sunday, she was able to talk for a long period of time without feeling too much pain.

Rose took this as a good sign. Still, she advised her to take it easy at least until Monday or Tuesday.

Sammie listened, although Rose knew she was growing tired of staying in bed all the time.

She kept her busy with games and let her watch a few DVD’s, but she could tell Sammie was becoming restless.

Rose even allowed Sammie to play a TLM game on her computer.

The little girl really liked playing it and Rose enjoyed sharing the experience with her.

She was surprised with how gentle Sammie was when she handled the mouse and keyboard.

Rose wasn’t expecting Sammie to be extremely rough with it, but at the same time she knew younger children sometimes became frustrated when using a computer for the first time.

After they had played the game for a little over forty-five minutes, Rose asked Sammie if she wanted anything to eat.

Sammie thought for a minute before nodding her head.

“Yes, please?” She said. She knew it was easier for Rose if she answered her verbally.

“All right. What would you like?”

“May I have some macaroni and cheese and some juice?”

“You certainly may. Would you like to eat it in bed or in the kitchen?” She figured she would give Sammie the option of getting out of bed since she hadn’t been moving around much since Thursday night.

“The kitchen, please.” Sammie replied.

“All right. Come on, kiddo.” With that, Rose picked her up and carried her out of the room.

Setting her in her chair in the kitchen, Rose went about the task of making them both something for lunch. She decided to make a sandwich for herself.

Once the food was done, Rose brought it over to the table and joined her sister for lunch.

Before they ate, Sammie took Rose’s hand in hers before bowing her head in prayer.

Rose smiled inwardly. She was teaching her well.

“Dear God, thank you for helping Rose and I find each other. She’s the bestest big sister ever. I love her so much and she’s awesome. Thank you for the food and please help my throat feel better and please help Rose in school. Amen.”

Rose was taken aback by Sammie’s last words. She wasn’t aware that Sammie knew anything of what was going on at BISM.

She then reminded herself that Sammie was pretty smart for her age. She understood things most kids didn’t.

“Thank you, Sammie.” Rose said as they were finishing their lunch.

“No problem.” She replied simply. “I’m just doing my job.”

Rose chuckled softly. Sammie was truly cute.

Near the end of lunch, there was a knock at the door.

Getting up, Rose went to answer it.

“Who is it?” She asked.

“It’s Gloria.” Came the youngest angel’s voice.

Rose opened the door and let her friend in.

“Hi!” Gloria said in her standard way. “I just wanted to see how Sammie was doing.”

“Well, see for yourself. We just finished lunch.” With that, Rose led Gloria to the kitchen where Sammie was finishing the last few bites of her macaroni.

“Wow!” Gloria said when she saw Sammie sitting at the kitchen table. “Someone’s feeling better.”

Sammie grinned up at Gloria. She swallowed her food and the sip of juice she had just taken before replying.

“Yup.” She said. “It still hurts, but not like before.”

“I’m sure.” Gloria said.

She stayed and visited for a little while. She listened as Sammie told her what she had been up to since yesterday.

“It sounds like you and Rose have had a good time.” She observed.

“Uh-huh.” Sammie confirmed.

“Well, how about tomorrow we go somewhere special.” Gloria suggested.

“Where?” Sammie asked eagerly.

Gloria turned to Rose.

“I mean if that’s okay with you.”

“I’m sure it’ll be okay.” Rose consented. “You need to get a lot of rest today and tomorrow though, sweetheart.” She instructed her sister.

“Okay.” Sammie agreed. “Where are we going?” She repeated, turning to Gloria.

“It’s a surprise.” Gloria told her.

Samantha sighed, but she was smiling too.

“What did you have in mind?” Rose asked the minute she had tucked Samantha back in. She stepped out in the hallway so she and Gloria could talk alone.

“I was thinking of taking her to the mall early so there are less people and it’s less likely for her to pick anything up. I thought we’d go to the Disney store. Hmm? What do you think?”

Rose grinned from ear to ear.

“I think she’d love it. I don’t think she’s ever been in one before.”

“Great! Well, I’m gonna get going. I’ll see you guys tomorrow then. Let’s say around ten o’ clock or ten-thirty. That way, we’ll beat the early morning traffic. I figure we spend an hour or so there and then get lunch and be back here no later than two. That way, she can still take her nap.”

“Sounds good to me.” Rose said.

Once Gloria left, Rose went back into the apartment and entered the bedroom she shared with Sammie.

She found her reading the end of “Prilla and the Butterfly Lie” quietly.

“Hey Sammers.” She said, using another nickname she had made up for her. “What’s up?”

Sammie shrugged.

“Just reading.” She said.

Rose nodded.

Rose had no trouble getting Sammie to sleep that night. The little girl was excited about the next day and she knew it was going to be fun.

Rose hadn’t told her what was going to happen, but her sister had a feeling it was good.

Once Rose had tucked her in and she had read to her, Sammie fell asleep shortly after that.

Laying down for bed herself an hour later, Rose smiled to herself. She couldn’t wait to see Samantha’s face when she found out where they were going.

She was about to close her eyes, when her cell phone rang.

She groaned, realizing who it was.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to her father. It was just that she didn’t feel like hearing how she wasn’t giving the program a chance and how she needed to be there.

Truth be told, if Gloria and Monica weren’t there, Rose would have left a long time ago.

As it was, Grace was the only reason she was even sticking around this long.

She was secretly making plans to leave or at least try to leave in the next few weeks. She just had to finalize them before she made her first move.

Something about taking care of Samantha had given her a newfound confidence in herself and she was going to use it to her advantage.

Heaving a sigh, Rose decided to let the answering machine get it. She would call her father back the next day.

With that, she laid down and was asleep in a matter of minutes...