Chapter 4

Sam didn't know what to think. For a few treasured moments she was transported to that sweet world where he had never left and they were suspended together in their impenetrable bubble where they had spent so many hours lost in their once in a lifetime love. She had felt nothing like it before and nothing like it since, and every fiber of her being still longed for him, yearned for his touch, craved his presence. The fingers on her face now, took her back to a place where only he touched her this way, his love transferring from his soft caress of her skin through her pores to the recesses of her heart that beat solely for him. Oh, how she'd loved him and how he'd loved her too. She moved her face against his fingers, languishing in the feel against her cheek, wishing it to never end.

Jason closed his eyes and rested his forehead to Sam's and inhaled slowly. She was right here, Sam, his Sam, his soulmate, his wife, his life. How had his heart not known her instantly? How had he not seen himself everytime he looked in her eyes? It was then, in that ethereal instant, with his eyes closed and his senses centered on her, it was then that his relaxed mind sent him deep within his subconscious where the beeping of machines echoed in the background of his heart beating out of his chest. His heart had recognized a sound, a sound so melodious and unlike any other, a sound that his homesick soul had played over in his mind but now he was hearing the sweet sound coming from far, far away. The softest touch upon his hand lithely soothed every ache covering his accident wrecked body, and he wanted desperately to awaken to its sweet beckon. Jason opened his eyes now, realizing that he had known her, that his heart had recognized her instantly, that she was the reason his unconscious body was able to fight back from the brim of death, the sweet sound of her voice and the softest brush of her touch, had brought him back to the love of his life. He knew now that he'd always been drawn to her. He knew now why he could never explain the feeling he'd always had like he'd known her forever…it was because his heart would know her anywhere.

"Momma, I don't feel good."

Sam pulled away from Jake at the sound of her baby's voice. Danny was standing on the bottom stair looking so miserable her heart hurt at the sight of him. "What's the matter little man? Where does it hurt?" Sam reached for her baby and swung him up into her arms, cradling his little blond head to her chest and rocking him in place.

"Wanna throw up momma." Sam stopped rocking and immediately turned towards the downstairs bathroom, feeling her son's forehead as she went. He was warm to her touch and instantly her worry was magnified. Ever since his bout with Leukemia, every little cold, or rash, or fever had taken them to the emergency room. She would head there now, as soon as she took care of his immediate need to throw up. Sam wet a washcloth and placed it against her son's forehead then took the thermometer with them back to the living room where she sat on the couch with her baby on her lap.

Jason had been pacing restlessly, waiting for them to come back from the bathroom and as Sam took Danny's temperature through his ear he saw how terrified she looked. He understood a mother's worry for her child but Sam seemed overly scared for Danny. "Is he going to be okay, Sam? What can I do?" He reached over and softly soothed Danny's hair.

"I don't know, I need to get him to the hospital right away. He's been under the weather all day, I was hoping that it would be gone by now but he's feeling worse." She was reaching for the phone.

"Come on, I'll take you." Jason was already lifting his son from her arms.

"I need to call Patrick and let him know."

The sound of the man's name did not sit well with Jason. In that instant he didn't care that Patrick had been playing a father's role in his son's life, he was back now and he would take care of his family. "You can call him from the hospital." He headed to the door, indicating she should follow.

Patrick was waiting when they got to GH, Sam had called him on the drive over and he was closeby. He reached to take Danny from Jason, who sidestepped him, clinging to his son closely. "I've got him," Jason said, just as Danny's Pediatrician walked over to the group. Sam told him what Danny's symptoms were, then turned to rub her son's back lovingly, noticing that he slept peacefully on Jake's shoulder like he belonged there. She realized that she knew how he felt, having felt the same way under his touch just earlier herself.

"Follow me," said the Pediatrician, turning towards the exam room. "Let's take a look and see what's going on."

Patrick tried again to take Danny from Jason, who again brushed him off and moved to follow the doctor. Sam didn't know what was happening between the two men but she was too worried about her baby to care. She really didn't know what to make of what had happened back at the penthouse between her and Jake and later she would need to give it some serious thought, but for now her only concern was Danny. She took him from Jason's arms saying she needed to hold him while he was being examined, and Jason let her, his gaze following them longingly as they disappeared into the exam room.

"What do you think you're doing? Why were you even at the penthouse tonight anyway?" Patrick Drake sounded resentful as he addressed Jake Doe, who was moving to follow Sam and Danny.

Jason wasn't even listening, he was concerned about his son because Sam seemed so very worried. Childhood illnesses come as no surprise to a parent, so for her to be that worried made him think that something else could be going on. His anxiety had been compounded when she insisted on calling Drake from the car, telling him she needed his support when she got there. Sam wasn't the needy type, and he was there with her, so when she called for reinforcements it made Jason worry more.

"Jake, why are you at the hospital? Is something wrong?" Elizabeth was coming on duty and she was surprised to find him there. He hadn't answered a single one of her calls or messages since he left the house earlier.

"I'm fine, Danny's here…Sam needed to bring him in."

"Sam? Why were you with Sam?"

He looked at her keenly, not missing the fear that seemed to creep into her tone, and his back flexed at her question. He wanted to tell her he wouldn't be any place else at that moment.

"I'm curious to know the answer to that myself," Drake spoke up again. Jason wanted to ignore the man but he couldn't be rude to Elizabeth. "Sam is helping me to find out who I am." He noticed how she blanched and he continued to assure her. "I know that I told you I'd give up the search but couldn't. I needed to know before we got married, I needed to be sure that there wasn't something about my past that was going to come back and hurt you and the boys."

"I wish you hadn't kept that from me, Jake. I told you, I don't care who you were before, what we have now is everything I'll ever need."

He didn't want to talk about it with her, didn't want to talk about anything while he worried for his son. "What are you doing here anyway, didn't you already work a full shift today?"

"They're short staffed tonight so they called me in for another shift. I tried to call you to see when you'd be home but you didn't answer your phone. The boys are with the sitter - were you with Sam this whole time?"

He saw Drake's head shoot up at the question and watched as they both waited to hear his answer, but Jason had stopped entertaining them.

He looked from them over to where his family had gone minutes before and he needed to know what was happening. "What's taking so long?" He started towards the nurses station where he'd inquire but Elizabeth piped up, "is someone ill?"

Patrick informed her about Danny's fever being why they were all there and she looked to Jason curiously, not missing now how very concerned he was. It was as if he knew, she thought, but of course he didn't know, how could he possibly?

Jason headed to the room where Sam and Danny had not reappeared from and even though he was not supposed to be family, he just had to check on them and could not wait any longer. Sam was sitting by the bed, softly stroking her son's hair, silently watching as he slept. The doctor had left but a nurse was noting a chart when Jason entered. "Sam?"

"Jake. Come in." She was happy to see him. "They're running some tests and we'll know shortly if everything's okay."

Jason looked from his brave little boy to his strong wife and he wanted to take all the fear and the pain away. "He'll be fine, Sam." He tried to reassure her, but she looked at him with a pain he didn't immediately understand.

Sam didn't like to talk much about what her son went through as it had been the scariest thing she'd ever faced, watching her little boy fight for his life, and so soon after she had lost his father so tragically, had almost broken her. She prayed that this was not a repeat of what they went through. She kissed her baby's hand before she said, "Danny had Leukemia, Jake." Her voice was so low that he almost missed hearing the loaded words. "It was a few years ago and he's been in remission since, but every time he gets sick I immediately rush him to the doctor. I'm terrified that my baby will have to go through that again."

Jason's heart stopped and his ears clogged as he stared at his sweet baby boy. "Danny had cancer?" The pain in his voice threw Sam but then she remembered what a good friend he'd been and how he had bonded with her son. "Do they think it's back?"

"They don't know yet, but it's a possibility." Sam went on to relay to Jason the events that surrounded Danny's transplant and how her father turned out to be a match. After hearing what an ordeal the search had been, Jason decided he would get tested right away to find out if he was also a match for his son. Just in case.

He went in search of the doctor to arrange testing, just as Patrick Drake was headed to the exam room. Jason put aside his fury for the time being while he went about saving his little boy. Soon enough his wife and son would not need anyone else to run to their rescue…daddy was home.