Sam could hear Jason's heartbeat. It was strong, much like the man himself.

She was well aware of what Jason wanted from her, and she wanted it to be able to give him the truth he was seeking. Her only problem was the risk that came with revealing the truth. Jason might hate her, be disgusted with her, or worse, he might pity her.

Sam wanted to savor what she hoped wouldn't be the last time Jason ever held her like this. Despite this, she had a sinking feeling that after she told him everything he'd pity her at first, and then he'd be repulsed by her. Still, Sam was tired of being weak and doing what was easier. It was how she had lived her life with Jerry, she couldn't do that again. Not now.

With a newly steeled resolve, Sam pushed herself away from Jason. She moved so that she was sitting in front of him. She remained close enough that she could still feel the heat of his body. For her, it was a silent encouragement.

"I'm ready to talk," Sam whispered, her eyes cast downward. She was scared to meet Jason's eyes, as she was terrified of what may reside there. Pity was something she couldn't handle seeing, and disgust wasn't far behind that.

Jason placed his hand gently below Sam's chin, and guided her head upward so that her eyes met his. His eyes bore deeply into her own.

"I want to see you," was all he said to the questioning look in her watery eyes.

Sam swallowed harshly and willed herself not to cry before she spoke.

"When I first met Jerry, he was what I, back then, would have called perfect. He was charming and sweet. He listened to what I had to say and he paid attention. I thought he was everything I could want in a man. I remember bringing him home to meet my parents. That's when everything just started to go wrong. My mother said his eyes were the eyes of a cold, devious man. She said he was an unfeeling man and if I wasn't careful he would end up destroying me. She didn't trust him; she told me it was her instinct not to trust him and that I shouldn't trust him either. She said I should love myself enough to see that he was everything she had always warned me about. My father absolutely hated Jerry from the moment he laid eyes on him. I thought it was because of Jerry's chosen profession, but it wasn't. My father said he knew that Jerry was going to hurt me one day. He said that Jerry was only going to use me. He warned me that Jerry was not only a liar but he could very well be the death of me. Thinking back, I should have listened to them, but I didn't. I thought that my parents were being judgmental and way too overprotective. I couldn't see that my parents might be right. I thought I was so in love. I thought our love would prove them wrong. I was so…stupid. I couldn't see past who I made Jerry out to be. "

Sam paused, and stared into Jason's eyes. He only blinked once in response, and ran his thumb gently over her hand, a sign for her to continue, that it was okay.

"That was the last time that I saw my parents." Sam's voice was a pained whisper. She could feel the pain of the old wounds she forced herself to disregard reopening.

"What happened?" Jason asked, his voice a whisper as well, so as not to ruin the moment. He could sense that Sam was revealing something that had been eating at her for many years.

"I grabbed Jerry's hand, and I walked right out of the house. I told them that if they couldn't accept Jerry that I didn't want to talk them until they weren't so judgmental. I told them that when they were ready to be the optimistic, loving, and supporting parents that I'd known growing up, I'd see them again. My last words to my parents were so mean. I said some things that were just so…cruel. The look on my mother's face when I said those words to them still haunts me sometimes. By the time I realized my parents were right, Jerry had become demanding and controlling and by then it was too late to apologize, or see them again."

Tears slipped down Sam's cheeks as she recalled the memory. Jason gently wiped the tears as they fell. His movements were very controlled, as he could feel the anger simmering just below the surface. Jerry Jax was a sadistic son of a bitch, and it made Jason almost physically ill just to think about it.

"Where are they now?"

"My parents live in West Newbury, Massachusetts or they did the last time I saw them. I like to believe that they still live in the house that my big brother Danny and I grew up in. I need to believe that they are happy, that what I said didn't ruin them. I'll regret what I did for the rest of my life."

Sam, scared that she'd see pity in Jason's eyes, looked down at her hands, which were now clasped tightly in her lap.

Again, Jason gently lifted Sam's chin. He wanted her to get everything out.

"Keep going," was his raspy whisper.

Sam swallowed once more and took a deep breath.

"After that, I brought Jerry to meet my brother Danny, in Virginia. I was hoping that Danny would approve and that he could help change my parents' opinions. Danny already knew what had happened with my parents, and he tried to be more optimistic than them. He couldn't bite his tongue though. He told me that he knew Jerry wasn't the right one for me, but that I had to make the best decisions for me at the right time. Jerry, of course, took Danny's words the wrong way. I think that was the first sign that Jerry was controlling. He got so mad at Danny's words. I'd never seen him like that. He nearly dragged me out of the house. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. The next thing I knew Jerry was apologizing and promising never to act like that again. He told me that it was out of character for him and that he was ashamed of the way that he had behaved. I stupidly believed him."

Sam stopped to take a breath. She still didn't see any pity or disgust in Jason's eyes. It unnerved her a little.

"After that, anytime that I wanted to go visit Danny, Jerry would make plans for us, preventing me from visiting him, and I was still so against speaking to my parents, so I never bothered trying to see them. I thought I was teaching them a lesson by staying away. I know now that I was only hurting them and myself. Before I knew it, leaving the house was a luxury I didn't have, anymore. When Jerry and I came back from our honeymoon in Spain, I witnessed what true evil looks like."

The tears were falling harder down Sam's face and her body shook softly with each sob. She felt like she was reliving everything all over again. Only this time everything was so much more painful, because Sam could see how foolish she'd been.

"When we got back from Spain, I did my best to distance myself from Jerry. I hardly spoke to him, and I refused to look him in the eyes. They were always so cold, so sadistic. I wanted nothing to do with that. To make matters worse, Jerry's brother, Jax, came to visit as soon as we got back. I figured they would be working on business together, thus leaving me to my own devices. I was wrong. Jerry was enthralled in business, but Jax was enthralled with…me. He always managed to appear whenever I wasn't hiding out in the bedroom. He was always to close to me and saying things a brother-in-law shouldn't say. Sometimes he'd run his hand along my arm or something like we were lovers, or he would rub up against me. I always felt so dirty afterward. I remember begging him to just leave me alone. I didn't need Jerry to suspect I was cheating. I knew it would only make matters worse for me. Jax didn't care about what I wanted though. Instead he was around more. It was like he knew what Jerry was doing to me, and he knew that him being around me all the time egged Jerry on. It has always been a game between those two, to push each other to their limits and see how angry they could make one another. They liked to see who could under the other's skin worse. I became the biggest pawn in their game. Sometimes Jax would tell me to laugh or do something else because he knew Jerry was coming. He wanted Jerry to believe there was something there. I gave in because I didn't need Jerry and Jax trying to make my life hell. Jax was different from Jerry. I always knew what to expect with Jerry, but with Jax, sometimes as punishment he would lock me in a room with him and he'd touch himself. Other times he would grab me hard enough to leave bruises he knew Jerry would see."

Once more, Sam paused. She knew that she needed to finish the story but it was just so hard. She felt so raw and exposed.

As if sensing that Sam was in distress, Jason tucked her hair behind her ear. If felt like the finest silk. He wanted to comfort her and be her support system, but she had to get everything out.

"Sometimes, Jer…Jerry would come home drunk, and he…he'd beat me. When he was sober he was careful to only hit me where I could easily hide it, or it wouldn't…leave a bruise, but when he was drunk, he didn't care. Sometimes…I'd have a busted lip, or a cracked rib, but other times, I wouldn't be able to move for days, or I would be unconscious for god only knows how long."

As Sam continued to tell her story, Jason felt himself vibrating in absolute anger at Sam's words. He couldn't fathom how a man could be so cold and sadistic to a woman as soft and gentle as Sam. A voice in the back of Jason's head reminded him that he'd planned to act similarly when Sam had first arrived at his home. He wasn't going to put his hands on her, but he had planned to be cold toward her, to do whatever was necessary to get the information he needed.

Picking up on Jason's inner turmoil, Sam placed a hand on his cheek and looked into his pained eyes. They mirrored her own red-rimmed ones.

"You're not him," she whispered, her voice chock-full of emotion, "You could never be him. You will never be him."

"How do you know that?" Jason pleaded. A part of him needed to know. It caused him unimaginable pain to realize that he'd hurt Sam in a similar way that Jerry had.

"You would never force yourself on me," were Sam's broken words of reply. There it was. The one thing she'd never been able to admit to out loud had finally been said.

Jason clenched his fists tightly in anger at Jerry, and if he was honest, himself too.

"I did," Jason all but growled.

Sam looked at Jason in bewilderment. What was he talking about?

"When we woke up in my bed, I all but mauled you against my bathroom door. You tried to get away from me, but I didn't care!" Jason's voice was angry, "how could I do that to you?"

"No!" Sam shouted, as she jumped from the bed and began pacing angrily back and forth in front of Jason.

How on Earth could he think that of himself? Sure, she had tried to run from him, but that was only because she didn't trust herself around Jason. If anything, she wanted him entirely too much for her own good. Jason made Sam want things that she shouldn't. Despite the abuse she'd suffered at Jerry's hand, when Jason had caged her against that door and demanded that she scream for him, Sam had almost come undone.

Instead of voicing these thoughts, Sam climbed back onto the bed and settled herself into a reluctant Jason's lap. She wiped a stray tear from her face and used her other hand to smooth the angered expression on Jason's face. Before Jason could react, Sam placed her lips against his. When Jason didn't react immediately, Sam tugged gently on his bottom lip. When Sam whimpered in pleasure, Jason reacted on instinct. He pressed his lips firmly against hers and pulled her body into his.

"Mine," Jason growled as his lips moved to Sam's neck. Her taste was so much more than heavenly.

"Yours," Sam replied as she cradled Jason's head to her neck. She gripped Jason's soft hair in her hands, a silent plea for him to continue.

Suddenly, Jason ripped his lips from Sam's neck. Her acquiesce had jarred him.

"I can't do this, Sam! I'm just like him! I've kept you here against your will and I can't even kiss you without wanting to devour you!" Sam ran her fingers through her hair in frustration at Jason's words. Jason Morgan was not Jerry Jacks! She knew that and Jason needed to know that too! Sam pulled herself together and fixed Jason with a determined glare.

"You, Jason Morgan, are not that bastard! You would never degrade me or make me feel like I'm less than something under your shoe! When you kiss me the way that you do, I feel…desired. Your touch makes my body hum. I love that you're aggressive, Jason. I love that you call me yours. Your possessiveness makes me feel like I matter! I love that you kiss me until I'm breathless. When you kiss me, Jason, I can't think. I don't want to, I just want to feel. When you pull my body into yours and I can literally feel how much you want me, Jason, I melt! You, Jason Morgan…" before Sam could finish her rant, Jason's lips were on hers once again. As Sam moaned in pleasure, Jason pushed her to lay flat on the bed. His own body served as a blanket over hers His hands were in her hair at the back of her neck. "Jason," Sam all but screamed out, "please." Jason removed his lips and stared deep into Sam's eyes. For the first time, Sam saw vulnerability in Jason's eyes.

"You're not him, and you never will be," Sam stated firmly. Jason kissed Sam one final time, before he rose from the bed and helped to Sam to stand beside him.

"Why'd you stop?" Sam questioned. The man was absolutely driving her crazy!

"You're special, Sam, and I'm going to make sure you know that."

An hour later, Sam found herself unable to suppress her wide smile. Jason had escorted Sam back to his bedroom to take a nap in his bed. He'd instructed her to rest because she would need all her energy and stamina for later. He'd then pushed her up against the bathroom door and kissed her until Sam was sure she couldn't walk. He'd then given her one of his t-shirts to wear bed, and admitted that the sight of Sam in his clothes was the most sinfully beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Sam had only blushed in response, as Jason gave her one final searing look and then exited the room.

So now, here she lay wearing Jason Morgan's t-shirt and wrapped up in Jason Morgan's sheets. She was surrounded in his scent and it was a more perfect moment then she could ever hope to dream.

A part of Sam knew that she should take Jason's advice and rest, but she was too thrilled at the prospect of tonight. Sam couldn't wait for what Jason had in store for her. Instead, Sam decided to take a bubble bath and soak for a while.

Jason Morgan was not a nervous man. In his line of work, being nervous was something he couldn't afford. Samantha McCall, however, forced Jason to disregard all of the lessons his business had taught him.

When he was with her he wasn't cold or calculating. He didn't care about the imperfections of his life, or the never ending drama. Business threats were the least of his worries. He only cared for her smiles, her laughs, her…everything. Sam made Jason feel so much. She made him happier then he'd ever been with Brenda, Elizabeth, or the disaster that had been his relationship with Courtney. Sam was so different form all of them. Where Elizabeth was fragile, Sam wasn't afraid of the darker side of him. Where Brenda was manipulative, Sam was honest and selfless. Where Courtney blamed everyone else for anything wrong in her life, Sam accepted responsibility for her life. Sometimes she even sheltered responsibilities that she shouldn't have to.

As Jason finalized the plans he'd made for himself and Sam, he realized that Sam had shared her history, but he'd yet to divulge his own. He vowed that he'd tell Sam everything before things went any further between them.

The sound of the doorbell ringing prompted Alice to smile as she pulled open the door of Jason's house. There stood Alan Quartermaine. He had a few bags with him and he wore a bright smile despite how tired he looked if his eyes were anything to go by.

"Hi, Alice," Alan said as Alice rushed to extract his bags from his hands.

"Nice to see you, Mr. Quartermaine, the rest of the family, except for Jason and Sam are in the living room."

"Sam?" Alan asked.

"She is Mr. Morgan's girlfriend."

"Jason has a girlfriend, since when?"

"Believe me, we were all shocked Dr. Q." Maxie said, as she entered the foyer.

"But we'll tell you all about her," Monica said as she moved to greet her husband.

As everyone filled Alan in on Sam and Jason, Jason walked into the living room. He smiled when he say his father.

"Hey dad."

Alan stood smiled and pulled Jason into a hug. "She sounds lovely"

"You haven't even met her."

"No, but I can see how she's changed you already. You're smiling, Edward's sitting over there like the cat that ate the canary, and you just look more at ease with yourself. I cannot wait to meet this girl."

"That's going to have to wait until tomorrow. I'm trying to surprise Sam."

"Do you need us to go?" Maxie asked.

Jason almost did a double take at Maxie's words. She never offered to leave, only to get on his nerves. She must really like Sam.

"No, I'm going to take Sam to the cabin."

The room was quiet. Jason hadn't taken anyone to the cabin, ever. He hadn't even been back to the cabin since the day he had officially become Jason Morgan.

"Good luck," Lila smiled.

Jerry smiled as he hung up the phone. Sam had been gone for far longer than he liked, and Jerry was done drowning in alcohol and he had grown bored with shooting people to make a point.

By now, Morgan had probably convinced Sam he was a good guy. He had probably charmed her with his looks and convinced her he was a good guy.

To counter this and remind Sam that she belonged to him, Jerry had intended to a pay a visit to Sam's brother Danny. It would do Sam good to see that her precious big brother was vulnerable when Jerry was displeased her. That plan had been thwarted, by the amount of protection Morgan had had placed on the boy. Jerry had then turned his sights on Sam's parents who were also being protected by Morgan.

Instead of letting that deter him, Jerry decided to hit somewhere else. If he knew Sam, he knew that she had more than likely already developed a soft spot for Jason. Sam had always been weak like that.

Playing on that weakness, Jerry had arranged for a special surprise to be delivered to one of Jason's coffee houses. He knew Sam would get the message. At the thought, a smile erupted on his face.

Sam giggled as she blindly followed behind Jason. He had insisted she wear a blindfold, and Sam, still shocked that Jason didn't pity her and he wasn't disgusted by her, had agreed.

She could tell they were in a wooded area. She could feel the excitement and nervousness pouring off of Jason. The hand clasped around her was a little warm, and he was rambling to her. Sam guessed that he rambled when he was nervous about something.

"I hope you like this."

"I'm going to love it."

Jason really hoped that she did. Sam had been honest with him, brutally so. He knew he owed her the same. He figured if he did so at the cabin, she couldn't immediately run from him. Jason admittedly knew that technically Sam was still a captive, but he and she had stopped viewing the situation as a kidnapping right around the time they had finally kissed.

They were passed that now, and Jason knew that if wanted to have anything real with Sam, then he needed to be as honest with her as she was with him.

Sam heard a door open, and then Jason guided her through. He removed the blindfold and stepped back to watch Sam's reaction.

Sam walked further into the room. There was a large bed decorated in all black. Sam smiled, it was fitting. On a nightstand beside the bed, there was a metal lock box. Her eyes continued to travel the room. There was a sitting area set up before a fire place. The room was cozy and Sam could think of no other place she would rather be.

"It's soothing," Sam's description of the room allowed Jason to release the breath he'd been holding in.

"I'm glad you like it. You should get comfortable. I'm going to get us some beers."

Sam nodded, and walked over to the sitting area. The fire place gave her sense of comfort as she made herself comfortable on one of the chairs.

Jason came back into the room and handed Sam a beer. He sat down opposite her and placed his own beer on an end table.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked placing her beer next to his.

"You told me your story, even the parts you didn't think I could handle. I owe you the same." Jason had a distant look on his face. Sam reached out, her hand grasping his.

"I'm here."

"I told you about killing the men who caused me to lose my memory. I told you I enjoyed it. What I didn't tell is everything that happened afterward."

Sam simply stared at Jason, no judgment in her eyes.

"After I killed those men and I became Jason Morgan, I realized I had skills. I had skills that could be helpful to a certain kind of person. It didn't take me long to find that kind of person and before I knew I was killer for hire. I killed so many people, but every time I was killing someone else it felt like I was killing the parts of myself that I couldn't deal with being a part of me. It was like therapy for me. Then one day the order came. I was to kill a 15 year old computer hacker. Before then, I never questioned an order. I was a machine who did as told until one day I was ordered to kill a kid who knew too much. You know that kid as Spinelli."

Jason stared at Sam's hand still wrapped tightly around his own. He hoped that Sam not pulling away was a good sign, but he knew there was more of his story to tell.

"I couldn't kill Spinelli, so I went into the business of protecting him. I met Sonny and Johnny and then I built my own organization. Together the three of us started going after organizations and people that were into things far worse than the three of us. Ridding the world of these kinds of people was fulfilling in a way. Then I met Brenda. I was wrapped up in being with someone who I thought loved me. Brenda didn't appear to care about my lifestyle. She was happy as long I kept her well-funded. I didn't mind buying Brenda's love because I thought that was the only way I could ever get love. I was in so deep that when Maxie came barreling into my house and revealing to me that Brenda had manipulated Spinelli to get to me, I didn't even care. I turned on one of my best friends for a woman who was with me for money and a boost to her social profile. I alienated everyone just to keep Brenda in my life. Then, I heard her yelling at Spinelli. She wanted him to transfer funds from me to her. She told Spinelli that I had authorized it. Spinelli, feeling abused and abandoned, had been doing just that for Brenda for months. She was planning to up the ante though. Brenda was trying to coerce Spinelli into transferring my ownership of several properties to her. Spinelli of course refused and Brenda attacked him. I wanted to kill her, but I don't believe in harming women, so I had her removed from my home and my life…until very recently apparently."

"Jason…" Sam paused and looked into his eyes. She could tell that having this conversation was putting Jason in a vulnerable place and that he wasn't accustomed to talking about his past.

"There's more."

"Ok," Sam's voice was barely above a whisper.

"After Brenda, I met Elizabeth. I thought she was this pure, sweet girl. I didn't want to taint her by being with her. What I didn't know is Elizabeth was as calculating as they come. She targeted me from the day we met. Like Brenda, Elizabeth viewed me as her own personal bank. To ensure that her funds from never stopped, she got pregnant."

Sam gasped and grasped Jason's hand a little tighter.

"I was in the delivery room. I was so excited about having a baby, someone that I could love unconditionally who wouldn't use me, but would love me as Jason, without the Quartermaine or Morgan finances as an incentive. Cameron was born and I loved him instantly. I wanted so badly for him to be mine, so I ignored the obvious signs. Cameron looked nothing like me. His eyes were brown, mine blue, Elizabeth's green. Elizabeth was hesitant to have me sign the birth certificate. She wanted the baby to have her last name. I didn't care because I wanted to be a father. It took me a year to do it, but I had a DNA test run. Cameron wasn't mine and Elizabeth had known the whole time. I couldn't lie to that little boy but I could just throw him away either. When I broke up with Elizabeth I made sure that Cameron would be taken care of. I still get reports on how he's doing every once in a while."

Sam touched her hand to Jason's cheek, in a sign of understanding. She knew what it was like to ache for a child. She knew exactly how Jason felt, to want something so bad only to have it become nothing but a distant dream.

"Despite everything that happened with Elizabeth and Brenda, it in no way compares to how I let Courtney Matthews damn near destroy me."

Sam moved from her seat to sit on the arm of Jason's chair. She placed one hand on his shoulder.

"I'm here."

"When I first met Courtney, I thought Brenda and Elizabeth were a thing of the past. She was nothing like them. Courtney was hard working. She never cared about the money. She only wanted to be with me. We were happy for about six months. I wanted to marry her. I thought she was the one I could finally start a family with. She just seemed so perfect. When I took her to meet the Quatermaine's, Edward took one look at her and told me she wasn't the right one for me. My grandmother tried to forge a relationship with her, but she said that she couldn't sense any genuine qualities within her. She believed Courtney was putting on a façade."

Sam squeezed Jason's shoulder to let him know she wasn't going anywhere.

"I chose not to listen to the Quatermaine's. I was so sure that what I had with Courtney was real. I tried to make up for the hurt my family had caused her by giving Courtney anything her heart desired. She told me her dream was to travel the world. I did my best to give her that dream. I took Courtney all over the place, but I was so blinded by her, that I wasn't aware of my surroundings. When we were in Belize, Courtney brother just happened to spot us. Courtney was of course shocked to see the big brother I had never heard anything about. Courtney wanted to extend our stay in Belize and I thought nothing of it. So for a few days, Courtney, her brother, and I hung out, but things just weren't adding up."

"What kind of things?"

"Courtney was close with her brother. Not close like a brother and a sister are, but close like two lovers. They were always touching, sharing secret looks, and her eyes lit up when he was around. One day I called her on it. Before I could get an answer out of her, I woke up with a migraine. I was chained to a chair is some sort dungeon cave thing. Courtney was sitting in front of me, with this huge smile on her face. Her brother was standing at a nearby table, with all kinds of knives laid out in front of him. I knew then, that Courtney had conned me. Instead of begging for my life, I begged her brother to kill me. I was so sick of being used and I just wanted everything to end. Courtney laughed. She promised that I could die right after I gave her the payout she'd earned for being with me for so long. I was so tired of being used that I just gave up. I didn't care what they did; I wasn't giving up a dollar."

Jason took a deep breath.

"I was chained to that chair for about two weeks. I was force fed just enough to keep me alive."

"What did they do?" Sam asked.

When Jason didn't respond, she moved to sit in his lap, "I can handle it."

"He had over twenty different knives on that table. I know, because I counted them as he cut me. His favorite was when a wound would scab over, so he that he could reopen it and start all over again. Courtney helped. She poured alcohol all over the cuts. They kept saying it would end if I just did as they asked. I refused, so they kept going. At one point, they got creative. They started heating the knives, before they cut me with them. When I passed out, Courtney was always there with a bucket of water to bring me back."

There were tears in Sam's eyes. Jason could see them, but he didn't feel like they were tears of pity. He felt like Sam was crying the tears he'd never allowed himself to cry.

"How were you rescued?" Sam's voice was small, pained.

"Carly. I had promised to check in once a week. When I didn't call, she Olivia and Maxie went on the hunt to find me. Sonny used his contacts in Belize to track down a woman fitting Courtney's description, who had been seen going in and out of an unmarked building. With that information the three musketeers hopped on a plane to track me down. When they found me, I was so out of it, I begged for death."

"What happened to Courtney and her brother?"

"They weren't there, when Carly found me. When I go back to Port Charles, I was to numb to care. I've never looked for her. That hasn't stopped Olivia though. She thinks no one knows, but she's still looking for Courtney."

"Good. If I had the resources I would be looking for her too." Sam, despite the tear tracks running down her face, looked angry and determined.

"Why?"

"Courtney tried to kill you, Jason. She tortured you. She manipulated you. She kept you from your family. Despite how you and I first met, Jason I care for you so much. If something had happened to you, I would have never had the chance to know you. It scares me to think about what could have happened if one of those women had succeeded in hurting you! I understand why Carly, Maxie, and Olivia are so protective. If I had known what Brenda did to you and Spinelli when I first met her, you might have locked me back in that room to protect her."

Jason stared at Sam. She hadn't reacted the way he'd expected her too. Instead here she was ready to take on the world in his defense. How had he managed to kidnap the one woman capable of shattering the world he believed to be black and white?

"You are amazing." Jason smiled, "I kidnapped you and here you are ready to fight for me."

"Jason, you may have kidnapped me, but you and I both know that you saved me. Being trapped in that room at your house was more freeing than being married to Jerry. I'll never be able to thank you enough for that. What those women did to you, I will never understand. This may sound, I don't know, cliché, but Jason I'm not them. I could never hurt you like they did. You are so much more than your money or your resources."

Instead of responding with words, Jason pulled Sam to him. He held her in his arms and just took in the moment. He knew Sam was nothing like the women in his past. Not with everything she had been through. He could still remember when he first met her. She had begged him to spare others. Sam was willing to go back the torture of living with Jerry if it meant no one else got hurt. Sam was genuine. The emotions he'd seen from her hadn't been forced; they'd been as real and passionate as the woman herself. Jason only he hoped that he could be as good for Sam as she was for him.

Sam stretched out in the bed she'd been laying in for the last few hours. She and Jason had fallen asleep. Both had shared so much today and they knew they needed the rest.

As she eased herself out of the bed, careful not to wake Jason, Sam let reality settle around her. Someone finally knew the horrors she had been subjected to. Jason knew about how dumb she had been to alienate her own family. He knew, and he didn't judge her. When he shared with her everything that he had endured, Sam's heart had ached for him. No, Jason wasn't a saint, but that didn't mean he deserved to be used by women who had wanted nothing more than his money. Elizabeth had given him a dream he didn't know he had just to snatch it away from him. Brenda had tried to take all that he had worked for her and to hurt Spinelli in the process. What those women had done irritated and baffled Sam. To have the love of a man like Jason and to throw it away over money, she would never understand.

With Courtney, Sam felt much more than irritation. Courtney had used Jason in a way so similar to the way Jerry had used Sam. She had made Jason believe everything he ever wanted was coming true. She alienated him from all of the people who loved and cared for him. Then that bitch had proceeded to torture Jason. What Jerry had done to her had been cruel, but what Courtney had done was much more. What she had done was heinous, evil, and unimaginable.

Sam inhaled deeply, before she moved to sit on the couch. She and Jason had shared a lot of the pain they'd been through, but it dawned on Sam, that had never shared happy memories. For Sam, those memories were without the presence of Jerry. She wondered what Jason's happy memories were like. He obviously had a big family, there had to be some funny stories there.

"Sam?" Jason's voice was raspy, evidence that he'd just woken up.

Rising from the couch, Sam bounded over and onto the bed. Her small body falling into Jason's much larger one.

"You're smiling."

Leaning further into him, Sam replied, "It is your fault."

"Mine?"

"Yes, yours. Being here with you makes me feel good. Despite all that we've shared today, you've given me a happy memory."

Stunned by the words Jason finally replied, "How?"

"You were honest with me, and I was honest with you. If nothing more comes of today, I'm happy."

Jason kissed Sam then. While she'd been surprising him since they met, this was by far the best surprise. Without thinking, Jason spoke.

"I'm falling in love with you, Sam."

Sam, never one to let silence reign where words could have the power responded, "I'm falling in love with you too."


I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO GET THIS CHAPTER FINISHED.

THE NEXT UPDATE, TO WHICH STORY, I'M NOT QUITE SURE, WILL BE AT THE END OF THIS MONTH OR SOME TIME NEXT MONTH.

NEXT TIME:

SAM IS REMINDED OF WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND.

JASON GIVES SAM SOMETHING SHE'S MISSED.

MAXIE, CARLY, AND OLIVIA!

A SPECIAL MOMENT

ALAN MEETS SAM

GO! GO! GO!

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!

JaSamUntilForeverEnds :)