Chapter Four
Sam looked at Lucky and longed to reach out to him but it was impossible at the moment. She knew the Jason he liked best was the Jason who stayed far away from all of them but right or wrong, Sam had let Jason have a relationship with his nephew, though it had taken a long time to get to the place where Jason could look at Danny and not see Franco. But he had vowed never to punish Danny for how he came to be and he had kept his promise.
Jason looked awkwardly around the room as everyone kept staring at him. Sam stood and moved over to him and Danny finally, waving at the rest of the guests dismissively. "As you were," she said lamely.
The party started to pick up again and Sam, Jason and Danny ended up on the porch. Danny wrapped an arm around Jason's legs until Jason picked him up and rested the little boy on his hip. "Happy birthday, Danny," he said quietly, offering the child a smile that seemed a little forced in Sam's opinion. She refused to read anything into it though.
"Thanks," Danny said. "You stay here?" He asked.
Jason shook his head. "I wish I could but I have to leave on a trip. You remember Sonny?" Danny nodded. He saw Sonny pretty regularly being that his aunt Kristina was Sonny's father. "Well he's my boss and he needs me to do some work for him, out of town. I just didn't want to miss the chance to wish you a happy birthday."
Danny looked disappointed but nodded, hugging his uncle. "See you soon?" Danny asked.
Jason lightly ruffled Danny's blonde hair. "I promise," he said. He gave Danny a little hug and then set him down. He looked at Sam. "Take care, Sam."
"You too," Sam said and reached out and grasped her son's hand. "Come on, Danny, you have to open the rest of your presents."
Danny nodded, said "okay" and then walked with Sam inside. She heard the ignition of Jason's truck start up in the next moment and looking over her shoulder, saw him peel out of the driveway.
XoXoXo
Present time finished in time and by the end of it all, a stack of toys and games sat in the middle of the living room. However, the one present Danny couldn't let out of his sight was a little black and red toy motorcycle – the gift Jason had brought him. Danny had always been fascinated by mechanical things and this was no exception.
The party started wrapping up around six-thirty. The sun was dipping towards the horizon as Lucky and Sam thanked everyone for coming and walked out each of their guests. The boys were watching one of Danny's new movies with Molly in her room. Last time Sam had checked, Cameron was in there, gazing adoringly at a still seemingly oblivious Molly.
"What a day," Lucky murmured as he shut the door after Nikolas and Spencer who were spending the rest of the week on Spoon Island.
"Yes, definitely," Sam agreed. "It was wild and Danny got so many presents!"
"I noticed," Lucky said.
Sam saw the forlorn look in Lucky's eyes and reached for him. "He loved your present too, Lucky. I know he did." Lucky had gotten him a Little Tykes motorized Jeep that he could drive around in. However, Aiden had somehow gotten the first spin on it.
"I am sure he did," Lucky said. Sam pulled him close and held him, placing his hand on her full belly. There was nothing she loved more than Lucky touching their baby.
"You're an amazing father to Danny – to all of our kids actually," Sam said. "Don't forget that."
She started to lean in for a kiss when Kristina came hurtling into the room. "Sorry to interrupt," she said. "But, Sam, its time."
"Time for what?" Lucky asked, disentangling himself from Sam very reluctantly.
"You'll see," Sam said warily. "Is Taylor still here or did he run off to hide from Hurricane Alexis?"
"Ugh. She's not going to take this well, is she?" Kristina fretted. "And yes Taylor is still here. He's out on the patio talking to one of his friends on the phone. He promised to be here when the bomb drops though. I hope Mom will be happy for me, Sam. Taylor is not Trey!"
"I know," Sam said. "But no mother wants their kids to grow up so fast. Trust me; I want the boys to stay small forever, even if it's not realistic."
Kristina smiled warily as Alexis emerged from the kitchen. "Sam, Kristina told me you wanted to tell me something."
Sam gave Kristina the evil eye and then turned to face their mom. She grasped Alexis's hands and Alexis's eyes went wide. "Oh God, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, Mom," Sam promised. "It's actually really good news and I know you can be happy for Kristina."
Alexis looked at Kristina. "Oh god, you're pregnant too!"
Kristina shook her head. "I am not pregnant, Mom."
"Then what is it?" Alexis asked just as the door opened and Taylor strode back into the room. He looked at them all and then moved to Kristina's side, threading their fingers together.
"Mom," Sam said. "Kristina wants and needs you to be happy for her. She has made a choice she is confident about and –" She broke off for a moment to catch her breath. "Taylor has proposed to Kristina and she has said 'yes'."
Alexis looked panicked at the thought. Another one of her girls seemed to be moving along, out of her reach, and though Taylor was a nice boy, Alexis didn't truly trust any man with her daughters' gentle hearts – except maybe Lucky. He had been around for years, long enough to prove himself.
"Mom, please don't blow a gasket," Kristina begged as with her free hand she pulled the ring off the chain and slid it onto her finger. "Taylor and I are really happy. We belong together, just like Lucky and Sam do. We got a second chance, just like they did too. Be happy for us."
Alexis sighed. "I am trying here," she said. "It's just you are all growing up so fast; Molly will be leaving for college soon, Sam's having another baby and will be so busy and you Kristina will probably move away with Taylor when he passes his bar exam…"
"Change is a part of life," Sam said. "Isn't that what you're always telling us?"
"You're using my words against me here."
"Mom, we all love you and just know that though things aren't always going to stay the same, we're the same daughters who love you," Kristina said.
Taylor looked at Alexis. "I love your daughter so much and I promise I am always going to treat her right. However, I know she won't marry me unless you give your approval. So please let her and I be happy."
Alexis looked at them and finally nodded, opening her arms to her daughters. Sam and Kristina crowded around her as best as they could with Sam's protruding stomach in the way.
Just then Molly approached and broke out into a smile. "Oh now that's what I like to see," she said as she ran over to them and indulged in a Davis girls group hug.
When they pulled apart, all the women were teary eyed but trying not to let on just how affected they were. Just then Cameron walked into the room with a disgusted look on his handsome face. "Danny puked," he said.
Aiden came out too. "Eww – his barf smells!" He covered his nose pointedly.
Lucky looked at Sam. "I am guessing he had too much birthday cake. I'll go get him."
Sam nodded and looked at her mom. "We'd better take him home, give him a bath and tuck him in so he can rest his tummy."
"Okay," Alexis said. "But poor little guy. It's his birthday and he's not feeling well."
"He'll be alright," Sam said assuredly. "Like Lucky said, I think he just had too much of the reassembled birthday cake. He's just fine."
