Author's note: This is set a few years in the future and is a sequel to Sleight of Hand. And as it's set in the future, it's not following canon. Not sure how frequently I'll post, but feedback is a big motivator. Thanks to all who shared it on the last story!
The Test
She darted in and out of rooms, looking for anything to distract her. After sorting the dirty clothes in and around Emma's hamper, Sam looked at her watch: three minutes left. She walked into Danny's room and straightened the Star Wars sheets that adorned his bed out of habit. Sam stopped herself mid-pull, remembering how much pride her kindergartener took in making his own bed "like a first-grader." She mussed up her efforts, returning the bed to the state that Danny left it-bedspread askew, nothing tucked in, but with pillows mostly aligned. It was perfect as it was.
Sam walked back towards the bathroom, slowly exhaling. This hadn't been the first test she'd taken since she'd moved in with Patrick, but those had been more hopeful exercises than anything else. There was always a symptom missing-an emptiness that told her she was willing a pregnancy to happen. But this time was different-she had the nausea, the tenderness, the exhaustion. The clincher had been her ear infection from the week prior. The only other time in her life she had one-save her childhood-was during her pregnancy with Lila.
Indeed, her confidence in a positive result halted her progress as she got to the bathroom door: should she wait for Patrick? Sam hadn't on any of the other tests, primarily because deep down she knew the test was more wishful than practical. They each wanted a child, but the wounds of the ones they had lost were always raw, and Sam felt guilty getting Patrick's hopes up only to crush them with a negative result.
She looked at the doorknob and turned it. As good as she felt, there was a gnawing doubt that crept in, and Sam decided if she was lucky-if somehow she miraculously could get pregnant for a second time-she would surprise Patrick with the news at the end of his shift. That way if she was wrong, she would be sparing him.
The ringing phone refocused Sam. She looked at the number she didn't recognize and saw the time. She'd been in the bathroom crying for at least 30 minutes. Danny would be home in a couple of hours and she needed to move it if she was to finish her errands by the time he came home.
Sam chided herself for her tears. The miracle she had been hoping for was here-she was pregnant. Seeing the positive sign elated her, and it was the first time a pregnancy felt perfect. In that moment she cursed herself for not waiting for Patrick. The two of them had built something beautiful, and this gift was as much his as hers. And what Sam had failed to anticipate was the sheer high of seeing those test results and knowing the future wasn't in doubt. She wasn't pregnant because of a fling with a mob kingpin. She wasn't living with the fear that her rapist was the father. It was with gorgeous, kind, funny, loving Patrick. They had each lost enough in their lives to know that finding each other and building their foursome into a family was luck enough. But this miracle felt like the universe was smiling at them-providing its own seal of approval.
Telling Patrick over the phone had been a non-starter, as was going to the hospital because he had a long surgery this morning. She was bursting to share the news with someone and weighed the betrayal of calling her mother or sister. That's when the tears started.
Things with Alexis were fine. They hadn't fought, but they also hadn't shared. There was a wall between them, and each brick was laid gradually. It started when Julian was arrested. Alexis had expressed no interest in the trial and was unwilling to discuss him no matter how much Sam pushed, using 'attorney/client privilege' as a shield for any questions about who did what to whom. Even when Sam tried to push her mother on how she was feeling emotionally, Alexis's replies were a combination of stony silence, pretending not to hear and distraction. These were all typical Alexis moves, and Sam may have been able to overlook them had they not been accompanied by her mother's lack of interest in Sam's feelings. Julian was her father, and although their relationship had its own challenges, Sam was devastated by her father's trial and subsequent conviction. But Alexis offered nothing, save a soothing, post-conviction hug, which her mother broke from almost as quickly as she had initiated it.
The trial itself severed further connections. Worried that he lacked a motive for Julian's framing of Ric, Scott pulled whatever connection he could. Ric was surprised when the line of questions during his testimony suddenly turned to the events that spurred and followed his divorce from Alexis. The District Attorney wildly miscalculated: Julian's reaction to learning that Ric had bedded and then framed his daughter led to a recess after Julian tried to spring over the defense table, leaving the jury no doubt that this day in court was-in fact-when Julian first learned of the affair.
Sam sat in the courtroom that day and listened as a fog descended over body, watching Ric's testimony like it was a car accident she was powerless to stop. The feeling of Patrick's hand over hers caused her to relax her grip on the arm of her chair, and she turned to where she knew Molly was sitting. But Julian's reaction distracted her, and when she turned back Molly was gone.
That day was two years ago, and neither she nor Molly had ever discussed it. Their relationship had cooled, with Molly skipping opportunities to return home when she was on break at Yale. The excuses were all fine-building houses in West Virginia for Habitat or summering as an intern at a law firm. But it was incredibly obvious she was avoiding the family, and Sam was pissed Alexis allowed it. Another brick in the wall of her relationship with her mother.
-"Thank you for waiting for me to eat. You didn't need to," Patrick leaned over to kiss Sam on the forehead.
-"Are you insane? This is heaven-eating in peace and quiet."
Patrick laughed. "So you're not a fan of feeding our children, huh?"
Sam shot him a look. "I don't mind feeding them. It's the wrestling and fighting that make me want to summon Mary Poppins."
He smiled, "But they're in bed now."
-"They are." She kissed his lips and then pulled two plates and put them in the sink. "So, why don't you go sit out in the living room while I clean up in here."
-"Got it. I'm on bar duty. I'm having a scotch-one for you?"
Sam shook her head. "No, I don't feel like scotch. I'm torn between wine or a G&T. Let me think about it?"
He nodded and left to play bartender.
She found him on the sofa, and she curled up next to him. Patrick lifted his arm around her.
-"How did the surgery go?"
-"Not well."
-"I'm sorry." She hugged him a little tighter.
He sighed. "You meet them before, and their families. And even though you know the odds, and that you can't fix everything you go in there and there's this moment where I see it all in my head...all the steps and I do them perfectly. And I see the end with them OK and healed."
Sam stayed silent, burying her head into his chest. On the rare occasions when things didn't go Patrick's way in the OR, he needed to talk them out.
Patrick sighed. "But I can't see all the problems in my head. Like the aneurysm hiding behind the tumor. So one surgery down and done, and we did everything we were supposed to do. But now he's got this ticking time bomb in his head." He finished his scotch. "I know it doesn't always go our way, but it's frustrating."
-"I know." She nodded at his empty glass. "Need another?"
He smiled. "Please. One finger this time-I gotta get up in the morning."
-"You're drinking the good stuff?"
-"Yup. Though I notice you're not drinking at all."
Sam returned with his glass. "Huh. And here I was thinking *I'm *the P.I."
-"You feeling OK?"
-"I feel fantastic."
-"Really?" He smiled and nuzzled against her ear. "You feel fantastic to me, too." Sam busted out laughing. "What?" Patrick asked with mock hurt. "That's one of my better lines."
-"That's probably the funniest part of all." They laughed together as he pulled her into him, kissing her slowly. "You know, as bad as work can be some days, I come home and it's amazing. This is the happiest I've ever been Sam."
Sam looked in his eyes and slowly smiled, the realization dawning on her. "Me, too."
-"I don't know what could make it better."
She smiled at him, "I do."
Sam looked around the pub for her mother. She had been nervous this dinner was another ambush where her mother tried to get her to warm up to Karl. However, when Alexis named the venue, Sam was relieved. She was unsure when her mother had started frequenting the small establishment, but it had been a regular spot-until she started dating the Baron. Clearly, he felt it beneath him, and Sam and Kristina knew that any meal here was one that would be free of her mother's companion.
The woman in question was seated, scrolling through her phone as she sipped what appeared to be bourbon. It was one of the marks her father had left on her mother: sadder eyes, a thinner frame and the occasional finger or two of Jeremiah Craig. She looked up from her phone to get the waitress's attention and her eyes fell to Sam. She smiled as she stood to hug her daughter, and Sam briefly felt a warmth she hadn't felt in some time. And then it was gone.
-"I'm glad you could make it on such short notice. I know I have this bourbon, but I was thinking about switching to wine. Any interest?"
-"No. None for me, thanks. I'm getting over a cold."
Sam watched as Alexis tried to hide her disappointment, and changed her mind. "One glass won't hurt. Let's do it."
Alexis smiled and ordered a Cab for each of them, and a salad for herself. Sam requested the a half-pound cheeseburger with fries with an enthusiasm that swayed her mother to reconsider and copy her daughter's order. As they waited for their food, Sam shared the latest Danny accomplishments, regaling her mother with tales of his latest soccer game. "Mom, I know you're busy, but he'd love it if you could make another game."
-"Of course, sweetheart. When's the next one?"
Alexis entered the date and time on her phone as Sam wondered what the excuse would be this time. She had long since stopped telling Danny Alexis would show at his games. His grandmother had canceled so many times that Sam stopped telling him she was coming. If Alexis did show up, it would be a surprise for Danny...and also for Sam.
-"You know I was thinking, Mom. Maybe Danny and I could come out to Wyndamere on Saturday."
-"Of course! Bring Patrick and Emma, too. You can have a picnic. Just let me know and I'll make sure the kitchen has whatever you need."
Sam shook her head. "No, Mom. The purpose would be to see you. Danny misses you. He loves the boat ride over, and I thought we could show him the horses again. You know he loves that." Sam watched as her mother sat quietly. "I was thinking just the three of us."
Her mother smiled. "Ah yes. Patrick and Victor. Well, you can tell Patrick it's safe. Victor is away right now. London, I think."
-"Mom, you're not getting it. I just want Danny and me to spend some time with you."
Alexis started to respond, when the waitress brought their food. "This looks delicious, thank you."
Sam looked at her plate and felt a wave of nausea rise. Onions. Someone put raw onions on the plate. She used her fork to pick them up one by one and place them in her napkin.
-"Oh my God." The sound of her mother's voice pulled her eyes to her direction. She watched as Alexis's eyes darted to the onions and the full glass of wine. "Stand up."
-"What is it?"
-"Samantha," a huge smile started to spread across her mother's face. "Stand up." Sam stood for her mother's inspection. Alexis placed her hand on her forehead before looking down at her daughter's shirt. "That's a little peasant blouse for you, isn't it?" She took her daughter's face in her hands. "How many weeks?"
-"How did you know?"
-"I'm your mother, I just know." Alexis grabbed her into a hug and her eyes were wide. "Really? *Really*?" She squealed as Sam nodded yes, drawing the attention of some of the patrons. "How many weeks?"
-"I think around ten. I'm going for the sonogram this week."
Alexis wiped a tear from her cheek as she sat back down. "I'm so happy for you and Patrick."
Sam was overwhelmed by her mother's reaction. It was more than she'd seen from her in years. "Me too, Mom." She smiled. "Really. How did you know?"
-"The onions, obviously. How many meals from Kelly's did we have to send back because of onions? God, or having to pick them out of the Chinese food? Let me just say, I hope Patrick knows how to find them...that poor, poor man."
Her daughter laughed, "OK, OK. I wasn't *that* bad."
-"Samantha, my darling. My love. My first-born: you were exactly that bad." Alexis quickly changed the subject. "So do your sisters know?"
Sam was quiet. "Krissy knows."
-"Have you tried-"
-"-there's no point, Mom." Sam sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. She's home in a couple weeks for Thanksgiving. I'll tell her then."
-"You're going to see her? That's great!"
-"I'm assuming. I mean Kristina is cooking dinner at their house." Sam watched as her mother made a puzzled expression. "I mean, that *is* where we're doing it this year, isn't it?"
Alexis shrugged. "I don't know. I hadn't heard anything about it. To be perfectly honest, I'd forgotten Thanksgiving is so close."
-"Well, I'm sure it will be lovely. It will be fun to have a Davis Girls Thanksgiving. Especially as we haven't really used that gorgeous house you bought us."
-"It will be," Alexis agreed, and then excused herself to use the ladies room. When she returned 10 minutes later, she seemed not as relaxed. Like the wall had been rebuilt. The waitress came back to check on them and Alexis asked for the bill. She looked at Sam, "So...picnic on Saturday?" Sam looked at the smile that didn't quite hit her mother's eyes and wondered how it had changed so quickly. For 15 minutes it was perfect, like it had been before Silas was murdered, before Nikolas died, before she gave up the law to be CEO of Cassadine Industries. Before she was Natasha Cassadine. Sam desperately wanted Alexis Davis back.
-"Yes. Mom…" Sam struggled for the right words. She wanted the feeling of connection back. "Why are we here?"
Alexis looked taken aback. "Is it weird we're having dinner?"
-"No! No, Mom that's not what I meant. You said you wanted to talk to me about something."
-"Oh, right," Alexis looked distracted. "It's late tonight. Why don't we discuss it on Saturday?"
The phone rang three times before Kristina picked up.
-"I'm going to kill her, Krissy."
-"Who?"
-"Mom...no I'm sorry *Natasha*. That bitch is not my mother."
-"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, Sam. Where are you?"
Sam took a few deep breaths and looked over to make sure Danny was still brushing the horse with the groomsman.
-"I'm at Wyndamere. We made these plans to visit with her. Danny was so excited," Sam sniffled as the tears started to fall. "Dammit! These hormones."
-"Do you want come here?"
Sam sighed. "Yes. But I can't. Danny's in the middle of a lesson."
-"Where's Mom?"
-"She's on some business trip, Krissy. She didn't even call. Danny was all excited to see 'Gamma' and she couldn't even call us to cancel. We got here and she'd set up a picnic and a grooming lesson for Danny. I'm so angry right now, Kristina…"
-"OK. Just take a few deep breaths. Finish the lesson with Danny then come on over to the Manor. I'll make some popcorn and we can talk it through."
-"Is this going to be another conspiracy theory, Krissy. I don't know if I have the energy for it."
Her sister was silent. "Look, I know you think I'm paranoid, but you said it yourself: that's not Mom. If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to. But our mother would *never* do something that would hurt Danny. All I'm saying is that this just makes me more convinced."
-"OK. I'll drop Danny off at home and come over. If you can promise me popcorn AND ice cream AND a conspiracy free conversation...I'll be there."
-"Done. We can plan Thanksgiving. How about that?"
Sam winced. "About that...I *may* have let the cat out of the bag to Mom."
-"Good. Then she won't be surprised when I invite her on Monday when we have lunch."
-"Where is it?"
-"At the pub."
Sam smirked. "At least you won't be subjected to the Baron."
-"Amen to that."