He's Back!

"Did we kill him!" Sam asked visibly panicking on the table she'd been on earlier during the experiment.

A half hour had passed since the women really started to try and figure out where James had gone. Jessica had hooked Sam back up to the machines to monitor her vitals and to look for any signs of James. But the monitors didn't show anything out of the ordinary. The machine that measured brain activity showed only Sam's brainwaves, devoid of any external presence.

"No, it can't be. Not like this. There has to be another explanation." Jessica reassured her friend. "Think about it, you're not dead when James is at the controls so why would it be any different with you in control?" Jessica reasoned with Samantha.

Samantha stared blankly at Jessica, the gravity of the situation sinking in. "Jess, there's also never been a case where I'm the one who's conscious while James is inside me."

"You're right, Sam but we shouldn't rush to conclusions. Let's keep analyzing the data and come up with plausible explanations." Jessica encouraged her friend.

"I guess so," Samantha conceded, her anxiety creeping back despite her efforts to remain calm.

"Listen, let me go grab some notes I took on the IV I gave you earlier. Maybe we can retrace our steps and figure out what's going on. They're in my office. I'll be right back" Jessica suggested, standing up from her chair. She patted Sam's hand and headed toward her office. As she turned to walk away her leg slammed into the counter causing a loud bang echoing through the silent lab.

"Ow! Damn it!" Jessica cursed under her breath, squeezing her throbbing thigh. "Sorry, Sam. I guess I'm still as clumsy as ever." Jessica apologized, her voice muffled by the pain in her leg. But her apology fell on deaf ears. In fact, Jessica heard almost nothing behind her. Only the faint hum of medical machinery filled the air. The doctor's eyes narrowed as she turned back to face her friend.

Her eyes widened in alarm as took in the site. Sam had fallen back into unconsciousness. Her heart raced, fear gripping her chest. Jessica rushed back to the examination table, her movements frantic. "Sam! Wake up!" she shouted, shaking her friend's lifeless body. "Come on, wake up!"

Sam's eyes moved under her eyelids and her hand went up to her face. Jessica sighed in relief. It seemed like she had woken up.

"Sam?" Jessica called, leaning in closer.

"Ughhh, What happened?" Sam groaned weakly, her eyes fluttering open.

"Sam, thank goodness." Jessica sighed in relief, her grip on Sam's arm tightening. "I thought something was terribly wrong!"

"Doc, what are you talking about? When did you hook me back up to all the machines?" Sam asked, wincing slightly at the bright light in her eyes. "You could have just woken me up. Geez."

Doc? Why was Sam calling her doc? Jessica questioned internally. "Wait, James? Is that you?" Jessica queried cautiously, holding her breath.

"Uhhh, yeah who else would it be?" James snapped, obviously still waking up. "Are you going to answer my question?"