Fireman Sam SAM&PENNY ONE-SHOTS

Exhausted

Waiting wasn't easy. Sam had former experience with waiting when, he was a little boy, his father had had an accident at work and Sam went with his mother, as Charlie stayed with grandpa Jack because he was too young, to Newtown to visit his father at the hospital. Now it all came back to him.
The more so Sam was grateful that when he came here right from a middle of his shift, a nurse directed him to a quiet corner where the screams from the neighboring ward could not be heard. However he was hesitating whether or not it was a  fair idea to be there, she assured him that it was a best possible care and either way she would called him when it would be over.
But Sam couldn't stand sitting another half an hour, so he started pacing up and down in this small corridon. His mind unconsciously started wondering if Penny and the baby were doing well. 

Another knock, another knock, another knock... It was unbearable. So Sam took off his watch and hid it as deeply in his pocket as he could. He started counting his steps, because he just couldn't take a waiting. When he got to one thousand, he sat down and gave in to his tiredness. 

But he didn't get much more peace in a world of dreams. His mind was still a chief there. He tried to wake up multiply times, running away from those crazy dreams, but he realized he needed help from an outside. 

"Hello, Mr.Jones?" The calm voice of an nurse woke him up. "Someone to you." When she stepped away from Sam's viewsight he was astonished to see his brother and Penny's cousin. 

"Thank you, nurse Hyde" he thanked the young nurse before she waved back, disappearing in neighbor corridon. "You're holding on?" 

"I wish I am, but..." Sam tried to answer, but the words kept running away. 

"That means you're not" Charlie quickly concluded. 

"It is totally normal to be nervous, Sam" Sophie added, but in diffrence to Charlie she didn't want to play on Sam's nerves even more. "But I'm sure it'll end well. Nothing seemed to be a problem before" she tried to brightened up the mood, but after her words, neither of them spoke again, until... 

The nurse came back to them with misterious expression of her face. Sam immediately was back on his feet. 

"Everything's fine" the nurse calmed him down. Sam sighed relived. "Your wife is tired, but she wants to see you. All of you I suppost" she added and lead the three of them to a small door on the left. She knocked, before she let Sam in first.

"Penny!" He ran inside, but as soon as she look up at him in sternly way, he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Are you alright?" It was the stupidest question he could come up with, but at that moment his gaze was fixed only on Penny's face. Sweaty strands of hair stuck to her forehead, her face was all red. Her tired brown eyes still shone, even if they were filled with tears. But those were sparks of pride and tears of joy. Sam realized this as soon as he looked down. Penny was lying on the bed, the covers pulled almost up to her chin. Only her hands were out. She had a catheter stuck in her right hand and a band-aid on the inside of her elbow. A white hospital band dangled loosely from her left wrist, but as soon as Sam saw what Penny was holding on her left forearm, he instantly felt tears welling up in his eyes. It was the most beautiful little creature he had ever seen. Charlie would probably go after him for that, but Sam would venture to say that she was cuter than Sarah and James as newborns combined.

The little head rested peacefully on her mother's elbow, and the tiny body fit perfectly in this place. Tiny legs were still curled up, and the whole tiny body was wrapped in a towel. Tiny hands clung to Penny's finger as she stroked her cheek tenderly. Nothing could compare to Penny's smile, which Sophie obviously couldn't miss. Ever since she found the camera in the attic of Penny's old house, she hasn't gone anywhere without it. So it was obvious to Sam that in a few days he would find a new album in his mailbox containing pictures from the last nine months and today.