A/N – Thanks for the comments! Glad you are still liking the story. It's twisty but juicy. I got very soapy with this one. lol * Guest – re: Penthouse - That discussion comes a bit later but I do think Jason has some inkling just right now he's overwhelmed with other concerns. He just found out about the penthouse. Give him a minute. He's a little overwhelmed.* KLJLizFan – There's a big difference between this fic and the show because here Jake/Liz are actually romantically involved and Liz/Jason have no history. Of course he has to deal with Sam and will but that doesn't mean he has to toss aside his feelings for Liz. Messy yes!

Chapter 7 – Drawing a Blank

Elizabeth looked up as Jason walked towards her. She had been soaking in the hot bath for twenty minutes and felt very relaxed. "Join me." She said softly.

He gave her a slight smile and stripped out of his clothes as Elizabeth watched him with hooded eyes. Slipping into the water, he sighed as the heat enveloped his body and got comfortable. "Feels good."

"Mmmm…hmmmm."

They sat there not saying anything for a while. He had wanted to say something to her before but was scared how she would react since they hadn't been together for very long. But he knew how he felt and he just couldn't hold it in any longer. "I love you." Jason said softly.

Liz's eyes snapped open. "You do?"

"Yes." He said simply.

She lunged forward as water spilled out onto the floor and kissed him with everything she had, leaving Jason moaning and aching for her. Coming up for air, she looked deeply in eyes. "I love you too."

Jason shut his eyes and savored the words.

"I love you Jason Morgan." She said more firmly.

His eyes slowly opened and the want in them made Liz shiver. He grabbed her hips and raised her up. "Are you ready for me Elizabeth?" God knows he was certainly ready for her.

"Always." She said before impaling herself on him causing them both to moan loudly.

Elizabeth rode him to completion as they both cried out for each other. And then they got out and dried each other off, Jason carried her to bed. They slept knowing that the love they felt for each other could get them through anything.

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EJ walked up to Sam who was sitting on a bench on the docks. "Sam what are you doing out here so late?"

She looked up at him. "I needed to think."

"Couldn't you do that some place safer?" He asked.

"This is where Jason always came to think. I came here a lot when he was gone. It made me feel closer to him." She said.

He sat down next to her. "How are things going with him?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. He looks at me like I'm a complete stranger; which to him I am. It's breaking my heart." She said as her voice broke. "I just want him back but instead his fucking that bitch who stole him from me." She said standing up as tears ran down her face. "How do I compete with that? Right now, I'm nothing to him."

EJ stood and pulled her into his arms and let her cry it out.

Finally, she pulled back. "Sorry."

"That's what friends are for Samantha."

"I'm having lunch with him tomorrow." She said.

EJ sighed. "What are you going to say?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll just pour my heart out to him and watch him stare at me blankly." She said throwing her hands up.

EJ fought a smirk. "You could do that but you know him Samantha, use that knowledge to get to him."

She nodded. Normally, Sam was a confident woman but right now she didn't have the upper hand and felt like she was fighting a losing battle. But she would fight. Getting an idea, she wiped her tears away. She knew what she had to do; convince Jason he needed to get his memory back. That was her only chance.

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It was lunchtime. Elizabeth took a ragged breath and walked over to Jason who was out on the balcony getting some air. She touched his back and then laid her head on it. "It's time."

He sucked in a breath. "I know."

"You don't have to go Jason." She said giving him an out.

"I know. I just feel like I need to get this over with." He said.

He turned around and hugged her. "Have fun with the family."

She rolled her eyes and Jason chuckled. They kissed and then walked to the door. Francis and Johnny were there and they walked to the elevators, Elizabeth going up and Jason going down. Both of them had Sam on their minds.

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Sam watched Jason walk into the Chinese restaurant they regularly frequented. "Hi." She said with a smile.

"Hi." Jason said.

The waitress brought some menus as Jason sat down. "It's good to see you." She said to Jason who nodded.

Jason looked over the menu and made his choice. They ordered and Sam slightly smiled.

"What?"

"I like the hair. It's different but it suits you." She said.

Jason wasn't sure what to say.

"I know this is awkward." Sam said. "I wish it didn't have to be."

"Tell me about us." Jason said.

Sam smiled reverently. "Well, I was your ride or die girl. We had a lot of fun together. I have a PI business and sometimes we'd work together."

"How long were we a couple?" Jason asked.

"A little over a year. We just fit. I could handle your job and lifestyle and we were good together Jason. I know you don't remember but we were happy. I'm not going to say everything was perfect because that's an unobtainable goal. I don't think love is supposed to be perfect." She said.

The waitress sat their food down and they ate in a comfortable silence.

"Where have you been working since the accident?" Sam asked.

"I basically ran a repair shop." Jason said. "I like it."

Sam smiled. "You were always tooling around with your bike. Francis was usually helping you."

"I'd like to see it." He said.

"I can take you over there after lunch. You can see where you lived." She said.

"Did you live there with me?"

"Most of the time, yes, but I do have my own apartment." She said.

Jason nodded. He could see how Sam would fit into a mafia lifestyle. She was pretty and seemed like she understood the rules and had no problem with them.

"Is there anything you want to ask me?" Sam asked.

"When were we going to get married?"

Sam looked down at her ring for a moment and then back up at him. "We hadn't decided. We were thinking of getting married in Hawaii though."

That surprised him. He figured Sam would want all the extras.

She caught his look and smiled. "You didn't like pomp and circumstance. You liked things simple and that was fine with me. As long as we were going to be together, it didn't matter to me what I wore or who showed up."

He let out a breath. "I'm not sure what to say to you. I don't remember anything and I don't want to hurt you either."

Sam closed her eyes for a minute. "Do you want to remember Jason?"

"Honestly, part of me doesn't. I'm having a hard time reconciling that I was a cold blooded killer. Dodging bullets doesn't seem like my idea of fun." He said distastefully.

"You defended the organization. It's not like you were killing innocent women and children. You had a moral code Jason. I know that sounds weird but you did." She said. "It was complicated. Things were definitely not black and white. You weren't just the job either. Lots of people love you so that should tell you something."

"Yeah that maybe they were scared I'd kill them if they didn't." He quipped.

Sam laughed. "Funny. People loved you because of the kind of person you were so just deal with it."

He smiled. "I think you're all crazy."

"You're probably right but I don't regret a minute of our time together. You made me come alive and feel like I could accomplish anything. I'll always have that no matter what happens." She said wistfully.

Jason studied her. He really hadn't expected her to be so light and forthcoming. He figured there would be a lot of tears but there weren't and he was glad.

They finished and Sam cracked open the fortune cookie and laughed.

"What?"

"It says, you'll meet an old friend."

Jason smirked and opened his. "Good things come in small packages."

Sam laughed. "Let's go see your mistress."

He frowned and she grinned. "Your bike."

Jason smiled and tossed some cash on the table and they left.

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Jeff and Andrea looked at each other.

"Elizabeth, have you heard one word I just said to you?" Andrea asked.

She snapped out of her haze and looked at her mother. "I'm sorry."

"What is wrong?" Jeff asked.

"Jason is meeting with Sam, his fiancé, right now." Elizabeth said.

Andrea sat back. "Oh. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was trying not to think about it." She said dropping her fork.

Jeff sighed. "Are you worried that he'll go back to her?"

"It's a possibility but….." Her voice trailed off and a silly smile appeared on her face and when she looked back up at her parents, they were eyeing her suspiciously. "He told me that he loved me."

Jeff chuckled. "Elizabeth, a blind man could see that."

She gave him a playful glare. "Very funny."

Her mom smiled. "So he really makes you happy?"

Elizabeth nodded. "That's why the thought of losing him is eating me up inside. If he remembers, he could leave me."

Andrea reached out and took her hand and squeezed. "Then you fight for what you want. He'd be crazy to give you up."

Elizabeth smiled. "Thanks mom."

Jeff cleared his throat. "If he had a chance to get his memories back, what would you do?"

"I would encourage it if that is what he wants." She answered.

"Even though you could lose him?"

She nodded. "It would be the right thing to do. He deserves to know who he was and I would never stand in the way of that. I'll just have to trust our love and hope it's stronger than the love he had for her." She said partly because she needed to keep saying that over and over in her head until she truly believed it.

"This is a mess." Andrea said wishing that her daughter didn't have to deal with all this.

Liz nodded. She just hoped that it would work out in her favor in the end.

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Jason walked up to the bike and wiped his hand over the seat. He smirked and Francis walked up closer. "She's all tuned up and ready to go. We made sure of it."

Jason looked over at him and smiled. "Thanks Francis."

Sam watched him and thought about the rides they had taken on it. "Do you want to take it for a spin?"

Jason shook his head. "Not now." He didn't want her to ask to come and he only wanted Elizabeth on it with him. "Let's go upstairs."

She nodded and they went to the elevator and went to the penthouse. Jason, for some reason, felt a little nervous.

Sam, sensing his agitation, reached out and squeezed his hand for a second and let it go.

Jason let out the breath he was holding just as the doors opened.

"This is it." Sam said opening it up.

She flicked on a light and they walked inside.

Jason looked around. It looked like him; simple yet functional. He walked further inside and saw the pool table and smiled.

"That was your second mistress." She said with a slight smile.

"You make me sound like a slut." He quipped.

"Only in a good way." She said flirtatiously. "There's a gym upstairs and the bedroom is the first door on the left."

He nodded and went upstairs and was glad when she didn't follow. Pushing the door open, he went inside and looked around. Opening a drawer, he closed it when he saw it was filled with lingerie and then opened another one which was filled with black t-shirts. He slid the closet door open and saw a leather jacket and he ran his hand down it. There were a few dress shirts and suits. After taking one more look around, he went back downstairs.

Sam held a box in her hands. "This was yours." She said handing him the box and some keys. "I've never opened it. Francis had a second set of keys."

He nodded and took it from her and sat down. He opened the box and sucked in a breath as he saw the gun. Picking it up, he lifted it and noted how good it felt in his hand before putting it down on the table. There were a few pictures in there. There was one of him, Emily, and Lila. He placed it down and picked up one of him and Sam and they looked happy.

"That was from a carnival we went too." She said looking over his shoulder. "It was a fundraiser for the hospital."

He nodded and found a picture of Carly and Michael at the park. Putting everything back, he closed it and locked it.

Sam picked it up. "You kept it in the closet." She said putting it back. "Jason, if you want to stay here, you can. I've been staying at my apartment. I came here every once in a while to feel closer to you but it hurt too much to stay."

"I'm sorry that I'm hurting you Sam. I—I love Elizabeth and I don't remember you." He said awkwardly.

"Jason, Patrick is willing to do some tests to see if he can help you get your memory back. Would you be willing to do that?" She asked, ignoring his declaration.

"I don't think so. I hate hospitals. I have a life in Toms River. I like it there and I'm not so sure I like who I was before." He said firmly.

Sam tried to get her emotions under control. "Will you at least think about it?"

He nodded. "Okay." He stood up. "I'm ready to go now."

She opened the door and they went back downstairs.

"I pulled the car out front." Francis said walking towards them.

And when they got outside, a few gunshots rang out courtesy of EJ (who figured he'd help Sam without her knowledge) and Jason pushed Sam down and shielded her with his body.

Francis pulled out his weapon and visually swept the area before telling them to run to the car. They got in and he took off.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked.

Sam bit her lip. She had come down hard on her elbow and Jason noticed she was holding it and took a look.

Jason frowned. "Your cut and it needs to be cleaned."

"I have a first aid kit in the trunk. We'll go back to the hotel." Francis said.

Jason found a napkin and handed it to her and Sam put it over the wound.

"Jason, I need you to think about what just happened when you make a decision about getting your memory back." Sam said. "You can't protect yourself or the people you love without it. It's too dangerous. I'm not saying you have to come back to me when you remember. I just want you to be safe. If your enemies know you remember, they will keep their distance. Not remembering makes you vulnerable and if you think that they won't find you in Toms River, then you're just being naive." She said watching him intently.

Francis looked up to see what Jason's reaction was and he saw the torment in his friend's eyes and felt bad for him. What Sam said was right. Jason would be safer if he remembered but he also questioned the reason she said it. Despite her denying it had anything to do with her, he didn't believe it.

He pulled into the parking garage at the Metro Court to avoid a repeat of what happened at the Towers, and then ushered them upstairs.

Once inside the room, Jason knelt in front of Sam and was doing his best to try and get all the dirt out. Elizabeth walked in and was shocked to see them there.