Jake woke up the next morning on Sam's couch. Sam had offered the night before when they left Elizabeth's. They didn't really talk about what happened yet, since both of them were physically and emotionally spent from what had gone down. They both just wanted to lay down and try to process everything.
Despite his exhaustion, Jake didn't spend a lot of time sleeping, as there was too much to think about. Jake was going to have to figure out where his life went from here. No, not Jake, Jason. He couldn't keep going by the name Jake. He was not Jake and pretending that he was just kept up the lie that Elizabeth let go on for so long. He was Jason Morgan. He needed to start seeing himself that way and having other people see him that way. He had to get used to it.
Jake… Jason, got up off the couch slowly. He walked over to the mantle where all of Sam's family pictures were. The first one he saw was of him, Sam, and Danny. It was before everything fell apart. He had his old face. He could see that he was happy. He loved Sam and their son so much.
There were more pictures of Sam and Danny and even a couple of more recent ones of him and Danny. The last one was of Danny's last birthday. The boy was in his arms smiling from ear to ear as he looked at the camera.
Jason soon heard footsteps. He turned to see Sam come down. "Hey."
"Hey. Was the couch comfortable? Did you sleep alright?" Sam asked.
"Not really, but it had nothing to do with the couch," Jason said before walking back to the couch and quickly folding the blanket.
"Yeah, I didn't sleep great either," Sam said. It had been very hard to process everything. She kept feeling like it wasn't real and she would find that she'd imagined it all.
"Thanks for letting me stay here last night," Jason said before sitting down.
"No need. This was your home long before it was mine," Sam said as she sat herself next to him. She and Danny had moved back into the penthouse after her relationship with Patrick fell apart.
Jason sighed and looked away. "I don't know how to handle this."
"Neither do I. I've dreamed about Jason, you coming back to me, but it never happened like this.," Sam said. In her dreams, Jason came back as he looked before and told her how much he loved her and Danny. Instead, he'd come back to her after being there for years, only neither of them knew it. He was someone who'd become a friend.
"I'm sorry about the way things happened last night. I should've told you elsewhere, not with Elizabeth right there. I made it too much about me and Elizabeth. I'm really sorry," Jason said.
"Jake…"
"Jason. The lie has to stop. I am Jason Morgan. I don't feel like him, but I am and I have to accept it. Taking the name will make it less confusing for my kids too, especially Allie and Danny," Jason said.
"Jason," Sam corrected herself. She felt her heart twinge just saying it. She'd missed being about to call her husband by name so much. "You didn't do anything wrong. You handled things as well as you could. You were angry and hurt and you were right to be. Elizabeth betrayed you. I still can't believe she knew the whole time."
"I knew that if I was Jason that Elizabeth knew the truth. I tried to deny that to Hayden, but I knew that she knew," Jakee… no, Jason said. He had to remember that he was Jason. He needed to accept being Jason even in his own thoughts.
"Did she really act like she didn't want Danny around?" Sam asked. That pissed her off. How dare that bitch act like her son somehow ruined her family, which was based on nothing but lies.
He nodded. "I know I should've told you, but I was worried you wouldn't let me see him as much and I didn't want to lose him. Danny never noticed to my knowledge. I would never have let him feel unwanted. Elizabeth always acted like I was crazy. She told me that it was in my head and she had no issue with Danny or you. I knew better, but I didn't really care. I wasn't going to stop coming around you. I felt connected to the two of you and I wouldn't cut you out of my life."
"I felt it too. I didn't understand it, but it's obviously because you're Jason. My God, you're Jason. I think that's just starting to hit me. I heard the words, but it didn't seem real. You're my husband. God, I've missed you so much," Sam said almost in tears.
Jason pulled her into his arms. "I'm so sorry."
"I told you, it's not your fault. The Cassadines did this and Elizabeth kept it a secret. It's their fault," Sam said through her tears as she buried her head in his shoulders. They stayed that way for a while before Sam finally pulled away.
"But I don't know if I can be what you need me to be now. Three years ago, we might have found our way back to each other, but I don't know if that's possible now. I know I'm Jason and I keep forcing myself to acknowledge that even in my head, but I don't feel like him. I'm not who he was. I'm not the man you were married to. Frankly, despite my rage, I still love Elizabeth," Jason said. The relationship with Elizabeth was over. He couldn't forgive her or be with her, but he couldn't turn off his feelings for her in one day either.
"I know," Sam said. She couldn't and didn't expect him to just forget in day the three years he'd been with Elizabeth. She didn't expect him to just suddenly want to be with her. "Look, I'm just glad you're not dead. I'm glad Danny can finally have his father.
Jason went back over to the mantle and looked at the photos. "I'm scared for him to learn the truth. It's going to be hard for him to understand. What if he thinks I abandoned him?"
Sam got up and approached. "Abandoned him? How could he ever think that? You have been there for Danny for half his life. He sees you at least once a week. You took him for the weekend with a three hour notice and it's not the first time you've done it."
"No, 'Uncle Jake' did those things. But 'Uncle Jake' is really his daddy. How will he feel when he finds that out. What if he thinks that I knew I was his father and chose to be something else because I didn't want him for a son?" Jason asked.
"He will not think that. We will explain what happened. We will get him to understand that you didn't know. He'll be happy to have you as his dad," Sam promised.
"I don't know how. I don't know how to explain it to Cameron and Aiden either. Their family is going to be ripped apart and I don't know how to help them with that. Cam's gonna think I'm abandoning him. He's already constantly worried about that. Aiden might feel the same way. God, I'm glad Allie's too young to understand this right now," Jason said.
"Lucky clearly did a number on Cameron. Maybe you should talk to him alone first. I can watch Aiden and Allie while you do it," Sam said. She wanted to help anyway she could. Those kids were victims too, just like Danny was. She wanted to help make things as easy as possible for them. It was not their fault that their mother had lied and hurt everyone, including them.
Jason looked at her and smiled. "Thanks. I'd appreciate that.
"You wanna go now?" Sam asked.
Jason nodded. "Yeah, I need to see my children.
"I'll get ready," Sam said before heading back towards the stairs.
