Hostage

Chloe Lane was standing on the stage as the deafening applause rang throughout the Blue Note. She'd just finished her set and as Sami sat there watching her, she realized that she was going to miss the girl when Chloe left for Julliard this summer. They had never been close, but she had visited with Chloe from time to time during her hospital stay, and she was one of the few people in Salem that Sami genuinely liked. She turned around in her seat and as she scanned the crowd of familiar faces, she noticed Tony Dimera. He was here alone, and she felt a burst of pity for him. Perhaps it was her fondness for Tony or just maybe it was the new diamond ring on her finger, but she just wished that he could find someone and be as happy as she was. She caught his eye and smiled at him and he began to walk over to her. "I understand congratulations are in order." He said as he stood in front of her. He lifted her hand to examine the ring. "So, where's the diamond?" He asked with a smirk. "Ha, ha, very funny." She retorted. "Seriously, you have all my best wishes. I hope you'll be very happy." He said and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Thank you Tony," she said "So where is your fiancé tonight, hmm?" he asked looking around for Brandon, "Oh, you know" she said "He's at the hospital, doing the whole do-gooder routine again." "Aha, translation - he's at my sister's bedside again. Oh Sami, when are you going to learn? "Please don't start Tony." Sami pleaded, "Brandon's just concerned as a friend. In fact, I'm surprised, that as her brother, you're not there as well." "Lexie has Abe by her side, she doesn't need me there, or your fiancé for the matter." Tony retorted "You know, Tony," Sami began angrily " if you thought Brandon was so bad for me, then why did you help push us together in the first place? Never mind, I know why, because you wanted your stupid key!" Sami turned around to walk away from him, but stopped when she saw Lucas approaching. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Engaged to Brandon not five minutes, and you're already cheating on him Sami? Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Lucas taunted her. "Oh shut up you cretin. Where's your girlfriend tonight stud? Oh wait, I forgot, she dumped your sorry ass!" Sami said with a laugh "Oh you …" Lucas started to say, before Tony jumped in between the two of them. "Now, now children, play nice or you're both grounded." Both Sami and Lucas stopped bickering long enough to stare at Tony dumfounded, before turning back to growl at each other. Once again, it seemed it was up to Tony to intervene. "Lucas" he said, pulling out a 20 and handing it Lucas "Why don't go get a drink on me alright. A non-alcoholic one!" "Gee thanks Tony," He said, accepting the money and smirking at Sami. "Don't mind if I do." And to Sami "Later loser"

"Why you little…" Sami said but Tony pulled Sami back against him to keep her from going after Lucas physically. "Now, now kitten, sheath your claws. There's a good girl" Sami relaxed against him for just a moment before pulling away and turning to face him with a scowl. "Don't think for one moment that I'm not still angry at you Tony." "Fine" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her out onto the dance floor and into his arms. "We can discuss it while you dance with me" She pulled back and looked up at him. "Are you going deaf in your old age, Tony? I just said I'm mad at you" "I heard you just fine" he said flashing her a wolfish grin "But I also know how irresistible you find me. And why wouldn't you. I mean I am devilishly handsome and charming, not to mention rich.." "Obnoxious, conceited…" Sami finished up with a grin. "Why do I hang out with you again? She asked him with an impish grin. "Because" he said lowering her quickly into a dip and holding her there "You like me" Sami rolled her eyes as he swung her back up and they both laughed. "No, I think you were right the first time," she said with a giggle. I think it's the money. "Witch" he laughed reaching down and pinching her bottom. "Tony" she gasped "Cut that out! I am almost a married woman!" she said with mock indignation. "Almost" he reminded her with a wicked grin "You're evil" she laughed, "So they tell me." he responded with a grin and they both laughed. But Sami's laughter stopped when Lucas and his blonde dance partner, came up next to them. Sami glared at him and hissed "Mama's boy" "Daddy's whore" Lucas shot back "Enough!" Tony shouted. But the sound of a gunshot was enough to put an end to their bickering.

"Nobody move!" A man standing on the stage shouted. But the panicked crowd was already racing for the door. A second gunshot, this one aimed toward the ceiling rang out and the bullet hit several light fixtures, sending a shower of glass down onto the dance floor. Lucas, who had instinctively jumped in front of Sami when the first shot had rung out, now used his body to shield her from the shower of glass. When it was over he stood up straight and took her by the arms "Are you ok?" he asked her, his voice shaking. He took her face in his hands and turned it from side to side to check for cuts. Sami said nothing merely stared ahead blankly. "Sami," he whispered to her, shaking her lightly. She came out of her daze, blinking her eyes at him. "Lucas?" she asked, concern etched into her face as she put her hand on his cheek. "I'm ok" he said taking her hand. She noticed Tony standing behind him. "Tony?" she said reaching her hand out to touch his arm "Are you...?" "I'm alright" he said taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "The gunman was shouting orders to the crowd and Sami turned around to listen. "That's better!" the man shouted as the crowd stilled. "I want everyone to throw down their jewelry and wallets on the floor, NOW! This nice gentleman over here is gonna collect them" he said nodding to his partner who was standing on the floor with a sawed off shotgun in his hand. The crowd, including Tony, Sami and Lucas, began to throw their valuables onto the floor, as the second gunmen was collecting everything and putting it all into a large brown sack. When he came to Sami he leered at her, making her skin crawl, but then he noticed her hand. Sami hadn't taken off her engagement ring and now the gunman gestured to it with his gun. "That too honey! Put it in the sack." Sami shrank back and shook her head "No" she whispered "Sami" Lucas whispered to her, "take off the damn ring and give it to him." "It's not worth your life" Tony said to her. Sami looked down at her beloved ring with tears in her eyes, preparing to take it off, but the gunman had lost patience with her. Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed a fistful of her hair and hauled her away from Lucas' side, shoving the gun under her chin. "You got a hearing problem honey, or a death wish?" Sami screamed in pain. "Leave her alone!" Lucas shouted jumping towards the gunman, but the shotgun, now pointed at his chest stopped him. "Don't be stupid, hero!" the man said. "Hey." The gunman on the stage called down to his partner. "What the fuck is goin on over there, Simon?" Simon laughed evilly. "We got ourselves a little girl down here, who wants to go for a ride with us, Willy. Ain't that right baby?" Simon asked yanking Sami's head back so that she was looking up at him. It hurt and she cried out in pain. "We don't got time for this shit, Simon. Just take care of business and let's go." Lucas noticed that as Willy said this he had looked pointedly towards Tony, and now so was Simon. Something was off here and Lucas had the feeling that this wasn't an ordinary robbery. But first things first, he had to get Sami away from that gunman. His heart was pounding in his chest. If anything happened to her, he didn't know what he would do!

"Hmph" Simon grunted as he shoved Sami down to the floor. She started to get up but he pointed the gun in her face. "Stay down girlie. I'm not done with you yet. I just got some other business to attend to and then you and me, we gonna have some fun." He said with a leer in her direction, before turning his attention to Tony. Sami sat frozen on the floor, her mind racing for a way out of this. Her eyes locked with Lucas, searching for some sign that he had a plan. From the look he gave her, it seemed that that was a feeble hope. She broke their gaze and saw that the gunman now had the gun pointed at Tony's chest. "Well, well, check it out. We got ourselves a real live celebrity here." He said shoving the gun in Tony's chest. "Hey, didn't you come back from the dead once?" Simon asked mockingly "I don't think you're gonna be that lucky this time, rich man." Oh my god! Lucas thought. I was right about something being off. This isn't a robbery. It's a hit on Tony!

"Wait!" Sami shouted jumping up and drawing the gunman's attention back to her "Look," she said "You've got all of our money and valuables, so why don't you just take them and go. You can still make a clean getaway!" she said frantically. "Because," Tony said coldly, "this isn't about the money, is it Simon? You didn't come here to rob these people. You came here to kill me!" Simon turned back to Tony and laughed again. "Heh heh, they said you was smart." "Yeah, "Tony said "too bad you're not!" Simon's face turned red with rage. He raised the gun to slam it down on Tony's head. But the sound of a gunshot coming from the stage stopped him cold. "Enough!" Willy roared, jumping off of the stage and over to where they all stood in the middle of the dance floor. "What the hell are you doing, having conversations with these people, do I have to everything?" He shoved Simon back and pointed his gun at Tony. "Sorry man, but business is business." Willy said as he cocked the gun and aimed it at Tony's head. "Noooo" Samantha screamed and lunged at Tony's would be assailant as he fired the gun. She grabbed his arm at the last minute, knocking off his aim, so that the bullet slammed into the wall instead. "You stupid bitch" he screamed grabbing her by her hair and throwing her to the ground. "Arrgghh" Lucas roared and launched himself at Willy, slamming him to the ground before he could get another shot off. Meanwhile Tony was trying to wrestle the gun away from Simon. Suddenly several of the men in the club jumped into the fray and finally the gunmen were subdued. Outside the sound of police sirens sounded and Abe's voice could be heard through a megaphone. "We have you surrounded. Come out with your hands up" One of the patrons went outside to let them know it was alright to come in, that the gunmen had been taken care of. Lucas made sure that Willy was being watched and turned around expecting to see Sami. At first he didn't see her, but then he looked down on the floor, where she lay on her stomach, motionless.

Lucas frantically ran over to where Sami lay unmoving on the dance floor. "Sami" he said pushing her hair out of her face, so that he could see if she was hurt. But she made no reply. "Sami, it's ok, it's over you can get up now. Sami? Sam?" She made a small groan and he exhaled in relief. "Oh thank God!" he said gingerly turning her over. "Sami I thought…" His sentence was choked off in a gasp as he saw the large chunk of glass protruding from beneath her ribcage, a slowly spreading stain of blood around it. "No, oh God No! Somebody" he screamed "somebody, help!" Tony and several others rushed over at Lucas' cry. And then suddenly the club was swarming with police and Abe was inside shouting "Is everyone ok?" Tony ran over to him. It's Sami, she's been hurt, badly!" Abe rushed over to where Sami lay quietly in Lucas' arms. "Sami" Lucas said "Baby come on, open your eyes and look at me" She moaned softly as her eyes fluttered open "Lucas" she whispered "Yeah baby, I'm right here. I'm right here!" "It's so cold" she said "Lucas why is it so cold" Abe draped his jacket over Sami. "Sami, it's Abe, there's an ambulance on the way, just hang on ok" "Abe" she whispered and smiled weakly at him "Tell my dad, tell him that I love him" "You're gonna tell him that yourself ok, you just hang in there, help will here soon" Abe said looking at Lucas. "You hear that Sami, help is on the way, you're gonna be fine!" Lucas said. Sami turned her head and gave Lucas a small smile. "Still trying to save me Lucas? Don't you know to give up yet?" "Never!" he said, tears running down his face "I'll never give up on you or on us. I love you Sami" "I know" she said and then suddenly felt a stab of pain so sharp she gasped. "Oh God Sami, please hang on. I need you. I know…" he choked out "I know that I've said and done a lot of things to hurt you, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Sami and I need the time to make it all up to you. I need time to make you happy!" Sami's hand reached up to wipe a tear from his cheek. "You have made me happy" she said, "You gave me our son. Will is the greatest joy in my life! Thank you for that!" She inhaled sharply in pain. "Will" she gasped. "What about Will?" he asked her "Tell him, that you tried to save me and tell him that I love him and that I love you." She said. "I'm not gonna tell him that Sami! You're gonna tell him that, because you're not going anywhere! You've never backed down from a fight in your life and your not gonna start now, do you hear me!" He screamed at her in anguish "You fight dammit! You fight for Will and you fight for me, because I am not letting you go, Damn You!" Sami looked at Lucas with tears in her eyes. "I'm tired of fighting Lucas. I just want to rest now. She said closing her eyes. "No! He screamed shaking her a bit. "She opened her eyes just a bit to look at him. "Always you" She whispered to him "You were always the one." And then she closed her eyes once more and stilled in his arms. The paramedics arrived just in time to hear Lucas' anguished cry of "NOOOO" echo out into the night!

5 Years Later

Lucas knelt by the grave and potted the soil around its flowers. A tear slid down his face. Even after all this time, he still couldn't believe that she was gone. His son and his wife sat in the sedan patiently waiting for him to conclude his visit. Will was now 14 and they were on their way to his first big baseball game, but Lucas had insisted on coming here first. They were cutting it close to game time and even though Lucas knew that they should leave, he just couldn't bear to yet. He still blamed himself for her death.

"We're gonna be late" Will said, continuously slamming his ball into his glove and looking up at the lady beside him. He was going through his rebellious teenage phase and refused to call her "Mom". I know" she sighed. But let's just give him another minute, he misses her so much." She said "I miss her too, but does that mean I have to miss my game also" Will whined. She turned to glare down at him. She just didn't know what to do with him these days. His grandparents just kept saying it was a phase and he'd get over it. But she wasn't sure how much patience she had left. "Fine" she said rolling her eyes and opening the car door. "I'll get him" She walked slowly over to where Lucas knelt, finally standing beside him and casting her shadow over Sami's name, carved artfully into the headstone. "Lucas" she said quietly touching his shoulder. Lucas looked up into his wife's face and smiled at her sadly. "Sorry, he said "Will must be getting anxious to go" She knelt beside him and they both looked at the tombstone "You know" she said gingerly "I think we should talk more about my idea. I think it would be good for Will. Maybe it would get him out of this funk he's been in." "I know" Lucas said looking at her and then back at the stone. "But it's hard, ya know. I just can't imagine replacing her." "Honey" Sami said looking at her husband with love in her eyes, "No other dog could ever replace Sam. She was one of a kind, special!" He turned to look at her. "Kinda like us huh!" he said grinning and taking her hand. They both stood up and smoothed the hair away from her face. Everyday they had been together over the past few years, she had only seemed to grow more beautiful and every day he loved her more. It was still scary to think how close he had come to losing her. When she had passed out in his arms that night, he had thought that it was the end. But the paramedics had managed to revive her and she had been rushed to the hospital just in time. Luckily the glass from the light fixture that she had fallen on had missed any vital organs by mere inches. It still made him shake to think about it. Lucas had never left her bedside, not once. He had even gotten into a fistfight with Brandon over it. Eventually though, Sami had taken Brandon quietly aside and told him that she wouldn't be marrying him. That, although she did love him, she had loved Lucas first and she knew that she always would. Brandon had been heartbroken and had finally left town. Lucas and Sami were married a year later and had been living quietly and happily in Salem ever since. Tony had been so grateful to Lucas for saving his life that he had given his club "Echelon" to Lucas and Sami as a wedding gift. Sami had not been amused and together she and Lucas had closed the scandalous club down and had reopened it as a new dance club. "LUMI" was now Salem's hottest place to see and be seen!

Suddenly Sami gasped and clutched her belly, bringing Lucas out of his reverie. "What is it!" he asked frantically his hand immediately covering hers. Sami caught her breath and smiled "Nothing" she said, "It's just your little soccer playing daughter letting me know she's awake. Lucas grinned at her broadly and took her by the shoulders turning her so that they now faced one another. "Well, she better just wait until next month to even thinking about coming. You got that!" He shouted down at her belly. Sami laughed at him and he thought he had never heard a more beautiful sound. And then he got that certain look in his eye and she stopped laughing. "And what about me?" She whispered to him huskily to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He arched his eyebrow at her. "Why Mrs. Roberts, whatever do you mean?" he asked her putting his arms around her waist and drawing her closer. "Well" she began" When do I get to…."Lucas silenced her with a kiss. When he finally broke the kiss he looked down into her shining eyes, alight with happiness and desire and asked," Is tonight too far off?" "Hmm" she mused "I was thinking more along the lines of the parking lot, during the game. Will won't notice if we're gone for a few minutes. She gave him a wicked smile to which he said, "You're bad" "And you love it" she whispered drawing his head down for another kiss. This time, however, they were interrupted by the blast of the car horn, blaring impatiently. "Uhg." She groaned putting her forehead to his. "Your son has the worst timing," she said. "Come on" Lucas said grabbing her hand and beginning to walk to the car. "Ok" he said "Maybe it is time to get another dog, but not before I build a higher fence. I don't need the next one running out into the street and getting hit like Sami did." "Good" Sami said giving him a peck on the cheek "Only this time honey, I say we get a male dog and name him Lucas!" "As if!" he said and slapped her on the butt. She jumped and squealed "HEY!" He stopped and turned to her. "Hey," he said grinning mischievously "I'll race you! "Oh no" she laughed shaking her head. But Lucas was off and running, laughing all the way. "Lucas!" Sami yelled after him, skipping to catch up.

THE END