IN THE MIDST OF IT ALL
Chapter 10
For a day that started out so badly, Sam can't help but smile as she enters the penthouse. Talking with Dr. Lee about having a baby was just a formality. She has a feeling that the process has already started, quite by accident, of course. It's really too soon to tell, but her intuition is telling her that she's going to be a mother sooner, rather than later.
She goes inside, her mouth open to call for Jason when she sees him sitting on the couch, staring uncomfortably at something staring just as curiously back at him.
"You're home," he says, breaking eye contact with their guest. "I got someone I want you to meet."
Jason takes Sam's hand and leads her to the couch where the very little person is sitting.
"Sam, this is Tessa. Tessa, this is my wife, Sam. She's going to help me take care of you."
"Hi, Tessa," Sam smiles a confused smile as she stares at the small child. She gives Jason a look that lets him know in no uncertain terms that he has some explaining to do. Luckily, he gets the hint. They stand and walk over to the desk so the child cannot hear them.
"You want to know what she's doing here," he starts off, heading off the obvious question she'll have.
"I must admit, I am a little curious," she says sarcastically, but then lowers her voice even more when the girl looks up at her strangely. "Jason, where did you get her?"
"She's the foster kid Gia suggested we get. I thought while we were at it, we could get someone who might help Kristina open up some. They're about the same age and everything. They should get along."
Sam's heart melts at his thoughtfulness. Then it melts even more as she takes another look at the kid and sees herself at that age. It shakes her to her core.
"Poor thing. So young and so alone," Sam sighs. She's not sure if it's all the thoughts of babies or just the look of pure sadness and hopelessness in the little girl's eyes that gets to her. But it does. "I'm glad she's here with us. And not just for the custody case. But because she needs us."
"Yeah, I think she does," he nods. "I wasn't looking to get a girl. It just seemed like it would have been too hard for us. You know, reminders of Lila and Hope. But when I saw her, it was like . . . I don't know. I just felt like she was the one I was supposed to get. She reminded me of you in a way."
Sam just smiles at how his words echoed her thoughts. The girl looks up and gives Sam a shy smile and at that moment, Sam knows the girl has just stolen her heart. She chances a glance at Jason and sees that the same is true of him.
"You are such a sucker for cute little girls with big brown eyes, aren't you?" Sam laughs, teasing him.
"She is pretty cute, isn't she?" he agrees.
"She's adorable," she says with a sigh, wrapping her arms around his waist. "And for now, she's ours. Let's make sure she has the time of her life, okay? Let's not worry about her going back or how she'll help us or anything. Let's just let her be a little girl for once in her life. I don't think she's ever had that."
Sam knows what it's like. She never really had much of a childhood, either. She realizes now that all her dreams of becoming a mother have so much to do with being able to give a child what she never had. She looks up at Jason to see him smiling down on her.
"You're the best person I know, Samantha McCall-Morgan."
"Just Morgan is fine. I don't need that hyphenated crap. I want people to know I belong to you," she says, pulling him down for a quick kiss in deference of their audience.
He looks over at Tessa and blushes at her curious gaze. Sam just laughs before walking over to the little girl.
"So, Miss Tessa. Welcome to our home. Did Jason take you up and show you your room yet?"
"I have a room?" she asks in a quiet voice. But the awe filled look in her eyes shows her true excitement. "I've never had my own room before."
"Well, you have one here," Jason says. "Right now it's pink, but we'll let you change it to however you want it to look."
"I like pink," she practically whispers.
"What?" Sam plays as if she can't hear her. "You're going to have to speak up. Did you say you like to be tickled pink?"
She wiggles her fingers on Tessa's stomach and the girl breaks out in giggles.
"No," Tessa squeals, the pure joy in her voice making them all happy. "I said I like pink."
"You think Jason stinks?"
"No, silly," the girl says, still cracking up. "I . . . like . . . pink."
"Oh. You like pink. Then you're going to love the room upstairs. Why don't you go on up and see if you can find it all by yourself."
Despite the laughing good time they just had, Tessa suddenly turns reticent and unsure of herself. She looks over at Jason with something close to fear in her eyes.
"It's okay," he assures her. "You can go anywhere in this house. It's yours for while you're here, okay?"
"What if I break something? Will you . . . send me back?"
Her question saddens them and it makes them wonder what other kinds of homes she had been in. Jason picks her up and sits her on his lap.
"Tessa, things can be replaced. So don't worry if you have accidents around here. We want you to enjoy yourself. It's going to take a while for you to get used to things around here, but you should know that you aren't the only little kid who comes here."
"I'm not?"
"No. Sam has a little sister about your age. I'm sure she'd love to meet you. Her name is Kristina. And I have two nephews who'd be crazy about playing with you. Their names are Michael and Morgan."
"Cool!" Tessa says with a smile, starting to feel comfortable again.
"Why don't you go on up now," Sam suggests, smiling as the little girl scampers up the stairs as if she belongs there.
"Little kids should never be that afraid of being little kids," Jason sighs, staring up the stairs behind her.
"Not all kids have someone like you looking out for them. She's lucky, Jason. I'm lucky. And any kids we have will be lucky, too. I guess I can understand why Elizabeth wants you so badly."
"But she can't have me," Jason assures her. "Sam, my heart belongs to you. You're the one I want to start a family with. And nothing Elizabeth can do will change that."
"Even if she threatens to take away your child?"
"I'm not going to give into her outrageous demands, if that's what you're asking. Besides, I doubt a court would deny me access to my child, no matter what Elizabeth says or does. Gia doesn't think so, either. But I don't think it'll get that far. Elizabeth is going to cross one line too many with me one day. And on that day, she'll no longer be holding the cards. I will. She'll be sorry she ever messed with me."
- - -
Gia fiddles nervously with her necklace while she waits for her name to be called. She knows that this visit is strictly business. She's here to talk to Dr. Winters about being an expert witness on Sam's behalf if Jason and Elizabeth's case made it that far in court. But she's been in too many doctor's offices in the past few years to not feel the sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.
"Miss Campbell, Dr. Winters will see you now."
Taking a deep breath for courage, she walks into the office to face her fears. Mentally counting to ten, she pushes aside that scared little girl and becomes the competent woman she's worked hard to become.
"Dr. Winters, my name is Gia Campbell. I'm here to speak with you about a court case I'm handling."
"Yes," Lainey says, looking down at her notes. "My secretary mentioned something about that. How can I help you?"
"As you may or may not know, one of your colleagues, Elizabeth Webber, is expecting Jason Morgan's child. Custody issues have arisen and I'm working on behalf of Mr. Morgan."
"Okay. I'm still not sure what I can do."
"Miss Webber has made claims that we hope you can show to be unfounded. Elizabeth wants to make a family with my client. But his girlfriend, Sam, is in her way. So Elizabeth has gone out of her way to accuse Sam of being unfit to be around her child and petitioned the court to only allow Jason to be a part of the child's life if he leaves Sam and goes to live with her."
It takes everything in Lainey not to laugh out loud. That doesn't sound at all like the Elizabeth she knows.
"That sounds rather ridiculous," Lainey starts, but in interrupted by official court documents backing Gia's claims. She reads them quickly, but gets the general idea that Gia was telling the truth. "I can't believe this would even be taken seriously in a court of law."
"Elizabeth has managed to convince everyone that Sam is forcing Jason to stay with her. That Sam made Jason push Elizabeth out of his life. That she made him choose between herself and the baby. She claims to fear for her child's life in Sam's presence, being a murder and an adulterer. As Sam's therapist, I was just wondering if we'd be able to call on you as witness to Sam's character."
"Do you really think the case will go that far? And that anything I say about Sam would make a difference to a case involving Elizabeth and Jason?" Lainey asks her, unwilling to get in the middle of the situation.
"I believe your expert opinions will make a big difference," Gia assures her.
Lainey just nods, needing to think things over before deciding. She can't help but think back to the conversation she had with Elizabeth earlier that day, though. She feels she should at least warn Gia.
"I'll think about it and get back to you with my terms should I agree. But there's something you should know, first. About Elizabeth. Keep in mind, this is nothing professional, just an observation."
"Go ahead. I'm listening."
"I met with Sam earlier today. And after she left, Elizabeth was, for some reason, lurking around my halls. She tried to pump me for information about Sam being a patient or not. Then she implied that Sam had an unhealthy attachment to Jason she needed to let go. She made it seem as Jason wanted to be with her instead of Sam, but Sam wasn't let him. She even tried to convince me to talk to Sam about letting go."
"Would you be willing to testify to this in court?" Gia asks excitedly, seeing a potential break in the case.
"Absolutely not," Lainey shakes her head. "What I've told you is nothing short of gossip. There's nothing professional about that assessment. I just thought you might want to know what I think, unofficially. It's up to you to make something or not out of it."
"Well, I thank you anyway," Gia says, standing up and offering Lainey her hand to shake. "I appreciate your time."
"Is that all then?" Lainey asks, her perceptive eyes probing Gia's. "You look troubled still."
Gia panics momentarily, wondering if her problems are still that obvious.
"Nothing I can't handle," Gia tells her, before practically running for the door.
"Gia, I'm here to help," Lainey calls out just as she reaches the door. "If it gets to the point where you can't handle it."
Gia doesn't turn around, but she nods, letting Lainey knows she heard her. Outside the office, she leans against the wall, her head falling back on it with a gentle thud. She wonders to herself when her nightmare will finally be over.
Sonny helped a lot. When she started having memories of what his stepfather had done to her when she was just a little girl, she didn't know who to talk to. Her mother and brother both idolized the man. They would never believe the abuse she suffered at his hands. But Sonny believed her. And for the first time in her life, she was glad to hear how the man died at Sonny's hands. Like she told Jason and Sam earlier, she owes Sonny more than she can ever repay him. This court case is a start. Winning would only be a drop in the bucket of what she owes him. But she's determined to win all the more. She does not want to let him down.
- - -
After that first initial day of awkwardness with Tessa, things smoothed out in the Morgan household. Sam and Tessa had a blast going shopping for clothes and toys and new furniture for the room. Sam was more than happy to get rid of any reminders in that room of where Jason spent the night with Elizabeth. Tessa's presence gave the room a whole new feel.
Jason and Tessa would go to Sonny's house everyday where she'd play with the boys while Sonny and Jason handled business. She had fun with the guys, but seemed to develop quite the crush on Milo. The adoring looks she gave him made Jason's stomach churn more than he cared to admit.
"It's cute," Sam laughs one night when he tells her about it.
"But she's just a little girl," Jason points out.
"And little girls like boys. It's the way of the world."
"But Milo is not a little boy. Although he may act like it most of the time. But he's a man. She's too young to be thinking stuff like that."
Sam smiles and shakes her head.
"Little girls grow up," she says with a shrug. "They grow up and fall in love with men. Then they get married and make more little boys and girls."
"No," he groans, covering his ears, not wanting to listen to her. "Don't talk about her being grown up and getting married and having babies. Sam, she's just a baby, herself. And we haven't even had her for that long."
"Relax, Jason. It's just a little crush. I don't think Tessa's ever had people to be nice to her just because. Milo is probably just nicer than most. You said it yourself, he has that little boy mentality. I'm sure she's connecting with that."
"But . . ."
"But, what? What is this really about?"
He bites his lip, suddenly afraid of expressing out loud what he's been thinking for a few days now.
"I want to keep her," he mutters quickly, partially hoping Sam doesn't hear him.
But she does.
"You want to keep her?" she repeats, staring at him with tears in her eyes.
"I know I said this before, but it's like she was meant to be with us," he says to her. "And now that we've had her, I don't want to give her up. The three of us have bonded and having her here makes me realize how much I want a family with you, Sam."
Sam gets up and walks over to the window, letting out a deep breath along the way. It makes Jason nervous. He didn't expect the possibility that she wouldn't agree to keeping Tessa.
"Sam? If this is too soon for you, then . . ."
"No!" she says quickly, spinning around to look at him. "It's everything I wanted. I just wish that things could be so easy for you and your baby with Elizabeth. I hate that because of me, you're having to go through this."
"Don't think about that." He walks over to her and takes her in his arms. "Everything is going to work out the way it's supposed to. We just have to believe."
"I believe," she whispers, reaching up to give him a kiss. "I believe in us."
"Then anything is possible. Now, all we have to do is find out what Tessa thinks. Then we can plan something special for afterwards," he suggests.
"It can't be today, unfortunately. I have an appointment with Dr. Lee."
"Are you okay?" he asks, a worried look on his face.
"I'm fine. Just a regular type of check up. But maybe we'll find out it could be something more," she hints.
"Are you . . ."
"I don't know," she shrugs. "I'm always hopeful that every time we make love is the time when we conceive our baby. But right now, I don't know. I feel like I could be, but it could be just wishful thinking."
"You probably are," he says, preening like a proud peacock. "I did a little something extra last night, if I do say so myself. I think it got the job done."
"Oh you do?" she asks, laughing at his silliness. "Should I tell Kelly that I don't even need a test since my big studly hunk of man is so sure that he impregnated me?"
"Laugh now. But you just wait and see." He nibbles on her neck, causing a shiver to go up her spine. "Maybe we should try one more time, just to make sure."
He reaches for the buttons of her shirt, but is disappointed when she pulls away.
"Later," she promises, giving him one last kiss. "I have to go before I miss my appointment."
She goes to get her coat and heads for the door.
"Oh, and make sure Tessa gets a nap. We're going to go play with Kristina later and I don't want her to be too grumpy."
She blows him a kiss and then blows out the door.
He just laughs, realizing how domestic they are acting. A kid upstairs and one maybe on the way. His own family finally. He couldn't be happier. He feels invincible, like nothing could stop him. Whatever Elizabeth has planned, she better reconsider. Because Jason suddenly has the feeling that he can't lose.
But often, it's at times like this when a person has everything, that they have everything to lose.
To be continued . . .