Sam was meeting her sisters for breakfast at Kelly's, so after the now usual bout of morning sickness that left her less than a little bit queasy after it had passed, she headed over and found she was the last to arrive.
"Hey guys!" She bent over and planted a kiss on top of Molly's head before sliding into the empty chair between them and leaning to her right to receive a kiss Kristina landed on her cheek.
"Hi, Sam!"
"You're finally here - good, I'm starving!" Krissy was beckoning the waitress over as she watched her sister back out of her light jacket and settle in.
"Sorry, I was a little slow getting started this morning."
"Hmmhm! I wonder why, with Mr. Hottie in your bed! How was, I mean is my brother-in-law this morning?"
"Krissy!" Sam didn't even know why she was still stunned by anything out of her little sister's mouth - it wasn't like she didn't always utter the most inappropriate, and sometimes embarrassing things!
"Aahh, were you and Jason making love again? It's so sweet how you still can't keep your hands off each other after all the time you were kept apart. It's so romantic."
"Jesus, Molly, give it a rest! They're married - married people like to jump each other's bones and it's not always about romance!"
Sam slapped Kristina's arm. "First of all, leave Molly alone. Second, mind your own business." She smiled when she added, "And for your information, my husband is very romantic."
She didn't tell them Krissy was right about what made her late. After a long, glorious night in each other's arms she'd finally fallen asleep, only to be woken in the early hours of the morning with warm lips setting her on fire. Her man had always been an early riser and in more ways than one. Just thinking about it now made her hot.
"Oh, my God, you're blushing!" Damn Molly and her observant nature.
"I am not! Now, can we please order…Hi, Tina!" The waitress had thankfully made it over and was waiting with pad in hand.
Sam was starving until she listened to her sisters' breakfast orders that ended with Krissy's eggs over easy. Suddenly her queasiness was on full blast and she couldn't stomach the thought of consuming food. Mentally calculating her need to race to the bathroom she was thankful to find that it didn't advance to an immediate need to throw up. She'd done plenty of that before leaving the penthouse and was hoping that was it for the day.
"I'll just have a glass of milk, please."
"What? Why?" Molly's voice showed concern.
"Yeah, you should be starving after going at it all night with your hunky hubby!" Kristina started to tease her before noticing her pallor. "Wait a minute, Sam - you don't look so good - are you okay?" She too grew concerned. It wasn't like Sam to not order the full menu when they met for breakfast or lunch, and now she looked pale as a ghost.
"I'm fine you guys…just not very hungry at the moment."
They had decided to wait for the second trimester before sharing their good news with anyone other than the few people who already knew. She was praying that everything would be okay, but after Lila, Sam had been left a bit gun shy about carrying a baby to term. Throw in her usual high risk status and she just wanted to wait, deathly afraid of jinxing them.
They were both staring at her curiously, unconvinced by her feeble answer. "You're always hungry, Sam…what gives?" Molly was thinking it but it was Krissy who voiced it.
"Okay, fine…Tina, I'll have some dry toast with that milk, please."
The waitress smiled at them then left to place their order. "You got it!"
Sam looked back to both her sisters who were still staring at her suspiciously. "I'm fine!" She thought about how excited they were going to be at the news and smiled. "In fact, I've never been better! But enough about me, what's going on with you two?"
She sighed in relief when they let it drop and Krissy moved on to Molly. "Nothing new with me but little Miss Priss, here is moving in with a man! Now, can someone say, Alexis meltdown?"
Tina had brought their beverages over and Sam almost choked on her first sip of milk. "Wait, what?" She turned to look at Molly who was cheeping behind her glass of apple juice.
"What? TJ and I are in love and we want to be together all the time. We're not going to stop being responsible adults all of a sudden because we want to live together, Mom will understand that."
"Oh, she will? Have you met our mother? She's going to have a nervous breakdown when you tell her this!"
Sam decided to be the voice of reason. "Stop being so dramatic, Kristina." Sam knew she wasn't really, but Molly needed their support. "Is that what you really want?" she asked her baby sister softly.
Molly looked them both in the eye and responded, "Yes. TJ and I have talked at length about it and we decided it's what we want to do. It's really no big deal, we spend most of our time together already, we'll just be sharing a home now too."
"Actually, it is a big deal, Molls. No matter how close you are with someone, it's completely different living with them. Right now you guys still live separate lives where you get to be together then go to your own place and have private time to do your own things. It's not always easy blending two lives together, you have to make sure you're really ready for this."
Molly had always been the most mature and responsible one out of all of them, despite being the youngest. She was an old soul living in the body of a youngster, always had been. She'd been doling out advice to everyone since she was nine, and some of it quite stellar too…but Molly was the biggest romantic there was. She always believed that love could overcome anything…which left her a little vulnerable and sometimes naive.
"I'm ready, Sam…I promise. I love, TJ. He's good to me and we take care of each other."
"That's good…and it's important…but living together means more than that, sweetie." Sam reached across the table and squeezed her sister's hand, not letting go as she told her, "Make sure before you move in together you talk about everything! Talk about the big things like finance, as well as little things like cleaning. However uncomfortable, agree beforehand on each of your responsibility for maintaining your apartment - it's those little things that can drive a huge wedge before you notice it."
"Yeah, and guys can be smelly and nasty." Kristina scrunched her nose as she jibed her little sister, "Always leaving the seat up…you laugh…it's funny until you find yourself in a pool of toilet water in the middle of the night, in the dark!"
"Well, TJ is not like that - he's considerate and kind." She circled her coffee cup with both hands and smiled brightly. "He looks out for my needs too."
Sam and Kristina smirked at each other before Sam turned back to Molly, bobbing her head in Krissy's direction. "I took this one to the family clinic when she started having sex - you kind of handled that all on your own…I still wish you had come to me too, but that's neither here nor there right now. Just promise me that you will not get lax with protection. I know you're a big romantic and let me tell you…situations and conveniences will arise out of nowhere when you live together…make sure you're always careful, okay?"
"I promise, I promise," Molly laughed at them as the food arrived at the table. Tina asked if they needed anything else then returned to refill the coffee cups.
Kristina, who had picked up her fork and sliced into a runny yolk, saw her big sister go pale again at the sight, as she waived off Tina's offer for coffee. Dropping the fork dramatically she demanded, "Okay - what the hell's wrong with you?"
Sam tried to look perplexed by the question. "What?" She opened her palms on the table and looked from Kristina to Molly, who was also looking at her concerned again.
"What do you mean, what? Since when do you turn down coffee?"
"OH MY GOD!" Molly's shriek was almost deafening, earning them curious looks from the other diners as Sam tried to shush her. She wasn't really surprised that Molly would figure out her secret sooner, rather than later.
"Keep your voice down!"
Molly was practically bouncing in her seat with her new deduction. Turning to a confused Kristina, she blurted excitedly, "She's not eating, she's not drinking coffee, and she looks pale as a ghost right now…" she turned back to her big sis when she exclaimed, rather than asked, "You're pregnant again!"
"OH MY GOD!" It was Kristina's turn to get the diners' attention when Molly's deduction made complete sense.
"Shhhhhh!" Sam tried desperately to control the situation and keep them quiet but she knew she was busted. She wouldn't lie to them, but she really wished she could've kept it to herself longer. "Okay, okay - you got me…I'm preg…"
She was cut off when they leapt from their seats and flanked either side of her, crushing her between them as they knelt and hugged her tightly, rocking her from side to side, gushing their excitement to be aunts again.
When they finally released her and returned to their seats Sam looked around the room anxiously, happy to see that for once no-one she knew was in the place.
"I need you guys to stay mum about this for right now, okay? We're not really telling people yet, even though you just told half of Port Charles - thank you for that!"
Molly was apologetic as Kristina called Tina back over. "Sorry…we're just so thrilled for you and Jason. He's thrilled too, right?"
Sam smiled as she remembered Jason's reaction to the good news. "Oh yes, Jason's pretty happy."
Kristina was holding her plate out to Tina. "Can you please make this a doggy bag and bring me some dry toast?"
Molly grabbed both coffee cups from the table and handed them to the baffled waitress. "Me too, and we'll have milk as well." Tina expertly balanced both breakfast plates on her arm and took the cups from Molly's hand, nodding as she left.
"What are you guys doing?"
"What does it look like? We're supporting you - if you can only eat toast, we'll eat toast too."
Molly joined in, "And if you can only drink milk, we'll drink milk also."
"In front of you, anyway!" Kristina laughed.
Sam joined in, "Yes, I noticed the breakfast is being packed to go." They joined hands and she squeezed each of them tightly. "You guys are too sweet, you really don't have to do that, you know."
"We know…but we want to." Molly covered their joined hands with her other. "Is it as bad as it was with Danny?"
"I think I'm about to find out."
"Just let us know what you need. There's nothing the Davis girls can't face down together."
Smiling at them, Sam remembered a time when she was all alone. Having siblings and a family to rely on was not something she grew up with, nor knew in her young adulthood. Now that she'd found them and was part of something so wonderful and strong, she didn't know how she ever survived without them. She doted on her little sisters and was so happy that she'd turned her life into something they could be proud to be a part of. They were young but they were supportive and had held her up several times when she would've crumbled.
"I love you guys so much!"
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Sam walked off the elevator at the hospital and headed for the Nurse's Station, bypassing the first nurse directly in front of her to circle the desk and approach the second.
"Hi, I'm Samantha Morgan - I have an appointment with Dr. Lee. Can you please tell me which exam room I'm in?"
"Certainly, Mrs. Morgan." The stocky blonde turned from the file to the computer and started typing, chittering away, "Dr. Lee is on schedule this morning so she'll be able to meet you on time in…four…let me show you the way."
Sam had gotten to know that place like the back of her hand, having been in and out more than her fair share over the years. It might as well have been a hotel, as much time as she and Jason had spent there.
"It's alright, I know where it is. Thank you."
She walked away from the desk, purposely ignoring the second set of eyes she could feel boring into the back of her head, eyes that had been staring at her since she walked in as though waiting to be acknowledged. Pfft! Sam was cordial with the brunette when she needed to be for her husband's sake, but she wasn't trying to be friends and found no need to address her when it wasn't called for. Thankfully, she wasn't the only nurse on duty like it seemed she always was whenever a Morgan needed care, so there was no reason for Sam to engage her at all.
Her clicking boots had made it halfway down the hallway when strong hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her close. She didn't need to turn around to know instantly who they belonged to - the familiarity of the hold, combined with the smell of leather and man that often drove her insane, was all him. Speak of the devil.
"What are you doing here? I told you I could handle this one today - it's just a quick look since the machines were down when Kelly confirmed with the blood test yesterday."
He dropped a kiss on her neck and tightened his hold around her body. "You don't handle any part of this pregnancy alone. We have the chance to do this one the way we should have done Danny's, and there's no way I'm letting you or this baby down." He ended with another kiss at her neck as they started to walk again, him still behind her as he propelled her forward. "I want to experience everything with you."
Chuckling, she stepped out and to his side, wrapping her arm around his waist, cradling her head to his chest as they kept moving towards Exam Room four. Sam relaxed into him as Jason kissed her head and rubbed her outer arm lovingly.
"Oh, I can think of one part I'll be handling alone," she teased.
"No, you won't…I'll be right there with ice chips and fingers you can squeeze boneless."
"Is that right? Remember you said that."
"Need help with that?" She was in the middle of unbuttoning her shirt so she could get the hospital gown on, when he took two steps closer to her, the devilish look in his blue eyes causing her to back away from him and hold her hand out to fend him off.
"You cut that out right now. Dr. Lee will be in here any second and I will not spend nine months being embarrassed to see my doctor because she caught my husband and I having sex in her exam room."
The sudden rush of heat and color to her cheeks made her painfully aware of how desirously appealing the thought of him bending her over the exam table and taking her from behind really was! From the sly little grin on his handsome face, Sam could tell that he knew what she was thinking and that it was along the same lines that he was. She backed up even further but found she was out of room when she felt the cool surface of the machine to her back. Chucking at his chest she quickly made her way around him, grabbed the gown from the table and ducked behind the changing screen. If he couldn't see her body while she undressed it would probably cool him down a bit.
Stepping out from the screen a minute later showed her how very wrong she was. The look in his eyes had grown even smokier, rendering her almost instantly wet the minute they met hers again. So much for the paper gown turning him off.
A short knock on the door announced Kelly Lee's arrival, bringing a sigh of relief from Sam when she saw the raw hunger on her husband and knew she had been seconds away from jumping him too.
"Hi, Sam…Jason." The beautiful Asian had been Sam's Gyno and OB for years and she knew her history backwards, which was why Sam wouldn't have trusted anyone else to see her through pregnancy.
They got right to the test while Kelly explained each step she was taking and why. She could tell that Sam was more than a little nervous and set about putting her at ease best she could.
"It looks good for the most part you guys. There's a bit of scar tissue still from the shooting that we'll need to monitor very closely but there's no cause for alarm. I know you're concerned about your previous stillbirth, but let's not forget that you've also had one successful vaginal delivery of a healthy, full term baby. That improves your odds of getting this little one fully to term just as well. I don't see any other impediments that would cause a problem for you, so lets just take it one test, one month at a time, okay?"
Sam was washed with worry, she couldn't help it. Even with the doctor's assurances and Jason holding her hand, his thumb creating circles in an effort to soothe and help keep her calm, she recalled the utter devastation that followed a time of immense joy for them before. She looked over to Jason who she knew was just as worried, even if he didn't voice it. The nagging worry was always there after Lila, both parents never forgetting the pain from her incredible loss.
"That's good to hear, Kelly - thank you." Sam tried to mask the immense dread that she felt behind a weak smile. She knew nobody could guarantee a successful pregnancy but it would have been good to hear she wouldn't need to combat with old physical impediments this time.
After reassuring them some more, the doctor touched a button on the machine to allow the room filling suddenly with the sweetest rhythmic thumping, to do its magic. She wasn't disappointed when it caused both parents to tear up instantly with the realization that they were listening to the sound of their new baby's heartbeat. It was just like when they heard Danny's for the first time, the beautiful sound filling them with the greatest wonder.
"That's our miracle, Sam!" He looked down to his wife laying on the bed and smiled through the unshed tears glistening his eyes that matched her own when she looked up at him, nodding joyously.
Worries forgotten for the moment, Sam smiled through her tears. "Yes, baby - it is!" She burst out laughing, the joyous sound echoing with their baby's heartbeat.
Kelly was floored by the couple, she always had been. It was incredible to witness the depth of the emotions between them. She had seen their love grow and watched it blossom even as it was tested…by one of her very best friends at times even…but the couple always seemed to survive it all. The love between them was beautiful to watch and the heat surrounding them often threatened to burn anyone in close proximity. She'd witnessed them suffer through agonizing pain and still manage to find healing. She was very happy for them and their expanding family and was determined to make Sam's delivery one of her very best success stories.
"Your baby is perfectly healthy and looks to be around seven weeks. Sam, the nurse will send your prescription for prenatal vitamins to the pharmacy…please get started on them right away. She will have a list of dietary restrictions for you also. Make an appointment to see me in three weeks, get plenty of rest, and stay away from stress! Light exercise is okay but keep it very light for now - take a walk in the park kind of light - none of that combat stuff you like to do!" She stood up and peeled the latex gloves off and handed Sam the paper towel to wipe the gel from her abdomen. "Do either of you have any questions for me?"
She watched Jason take the paper towel and wipe the gel from his wife, then the two shared a smoldering look before either answered. To be loved like that, Kelly thought.
After answering their questions Kelly made her exit so Sam could get dressed, but not before handing her the photos, "Congratulations, you two!"
The doctor left, closing the door behind her as Jason laid reverently on the bed beside his wife, his eyes drawn in awe to the photos in her hand. Sam looked over to him, her teary smile bright when she met his dancing blue eyes when he said, "That's our baby, Sam!"
She nodded and grinned even wider, "That is our baby, Jason!"
His eyes locked again on the image that was barely there but filled both their hearts, and he rested his head on her chest as one hand reached to take it from her. They both laid there for the longest while before they could move again.
Jason snuggled his wife close and led her to the Nurse's Station, still marveling at the photo in one hand. They approached the busybody nurse who was engrossed in questioning the other one.
"She completely ignored you and you were sending daggers at her head the whole time - is the fact that you've seen that delicious man naked still an issue between you?"
The mouse shrugged her shoulders and replied, "There's a lot more history and bad blood there too. She'd like to change the fact that he loves me, but she can't."
Jason didn't hear any part of the conversation, still enthralled with the second most beautiful image he'd seen in his life…their baby…but Sam hadn't missed a word. She cleared her throat to get the blonde's attention, who had the decency to look shame faced at getting caught by the subject of her gossip.
"M-Mrs. Morgan, hello again. Ah…yes, your checkout! Your prenatal vitamins are ready for pickup and Dr. Lee wants you to follow all her guidelines religiously." She pushed the clipboard jauntily towards Sam for signature and handed her the sheet with instructions.
Cooly signing the form, Sam calmly filled her in loudly enough for the other nurse to clearly hear, "She's not the only woman in this town who's seen my husband naked, but she is the only one who can't seem to grow past it."
Jason looked up to the saccharine iciness in Sam's voice, looked between her and the other women, then took a fast hold on one hand and turned her toward the elevator where he drew her close again while they waited. She turned her face upward in response to him looking down, and Jason couldn't resist tenderly sealing her lips in a lingering kiss that was broken only by the sound of the arriving elevator. They were completely oblivious to the major scrutiny from the peanut gallery when he lifted his head, stared deeply into her eyes before pecking her lips again and moving them into the open car.
Nurse Amy watched the doors close and rolled her eyes jeeringly, "Yeah…that man is clearly in love with you," she mumbled mockingly at the presence next to her. She thought it low enough to be to herself but the scorching words fell distinctly on the other ears beside her that were still burning from the words prenatal vitamins.
They were on their way to the lobby when Jason finally asked, "What was that before?" He had only caught Sam's frosty words and looked up to notice that both nurses looked guilty of something.
"Nothing that can ever come between us again. I have my car so I'll go get Danny and we'll meet you at home later. I want to spend some time with him."
He noticed her swift change of subject and knew she wanted it left alone, so he didn't push. He had no idea what he'd missed but as long as it wasn't something that could create a rift between him and his wife, he couldn't care less. He pulled her into his arms.
"I'm not invited?"
"Nope! It's just me and my baby this afternoon."
"Don't you mean, babies?" He smiled at her softening eyes, "We're going to have to get used to saying that now, how great is that?"