Chapter 14
Sam juggled her purse, her cell phone and two hot cups of coffee as she jaywalked across the street. She'd stopped at Kelly's for her daily dose of java when Kristina had called and asked if Sam would meet her. She was already late for McCall and Jackal's latest client but she'd deferred him to Spinelli. If there was one thing she'd learned in life it was family came first.
Kristina wanted to meet in the park and Sam was happy to oblige her. It had been a few days since Maxie and Spinelli's wedding and that was the last time she'd spoken to her little sister. She'd sounded nervous on the phone and Sam couldn't help but worry. It was a sister's prerogative.
"I'm meeting Krissy right now," Sam spoke into the phone sidestepping a huge puddle on the sidewalk. Port Charles had been pummeled with rain the past few days and today was the first day of sunshine.
"Didn't you have a meeting with a client?" Jason asked confused. He was pacing inside Sonny's office waiting for his boss impatiently. He'd called him into work early but Jason still didn't know why.
"Yes but Kristina called…she sounded weird," Sam said hurrying into the park. "I had Spinelli take the meeting. It was just another cheating spouse case, Spinelli can take the notes and decide if it's worth our time." She nearly collided with a woman walking her dog and mouthed her apology quickly. "What did Sonny want?"
"He still hasn't shown up," Jason said rubbing the bridge of his nose. His head was aching. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before; a problem at one of the warehouses had kept him out for most of the night. Then Sonny's early phone call had pulled him out of bed after only two hours of sleep.
"He called you hours ago," Sam said shaking her head. "Did he at least tell you what he needed?"
"No."
"Of course not," Sam muttered cursing as some guy on a bike almost caused her to drop one of the cups of coffee.
"I missed you last night," Jason said softly. Since the wedding they hadn't been able to spend as much time together as they both wanted. Between his job and hers and the constant interruptions from everybody, their time together had been limited. They'd had tentative plans the night before but they'd of course been cancelled.
"I missed you too," Sam said biting her lip. She'd thought that Mexico had been one of their best times but Jason had more than proved her wrong the night of Maxie and Spinelli's wedding. They'd barely made it inside the penthouse before Jason had pushed her up against the door. They'd both tore at each other's clothes, leaving a trail up towards the bedroom. Sleep hadn't been on their minds as they'd made up for all the lost time. She'd been looking forward to another repeat but it seemed everything was working against them.
"I'm sorry I had to cancel."
"Me too…but I did catch another episode of that show Maxie recommended," Sam said just as she spotted Kristina sitting on a bench up ahead. "It's entertaining."
"I'll have to take your word on that," Jason said rolling his eyes. He hadn't paid much attention the first time Sam had put it on but he was sure if Maxie had recommended it, he wouldn't like it.
"Will I see you tonight?" Sam asked.
"I'm going to try," Jason said. "I don't know what Sonny needs and-"
"Who knows what he has planned?" Sam finished for him. "Well I hope it's nothing serious. Talk to you later?"
"Talk to you later," Jason said before hanging up.
Sam hurried towards the bench thrusting Kristina's cup of coffee at her. "I almost dropped your latte like a million times."
"Put the phone down and actually pay attention to what your doing," Kristina said chuckling. She sipped the coffee and made a little noise in appreciation. "Thank you for the latte. It's perfect."
Sam took a sip of her own and made the same noise. "Yes it is." She sat down, tucking her cell phone back into her purse before turning to face her sister. "So what's up? You sounded…strange on the phone."
"Nothings wrong," Kristina said quickly. When Sam just continued to stare at her with her 'I know something's up' look, she sighed. "So you know I'm dating Kiefer?"
"Yes," Sam said slowly, drawing the word out.
"Well…it's been a couple weeks since we went exclusive…and we dated on and off this summer," Kristina explained her fingers tapping on the lid of her cup of coffee. "And we were talking…and we think it's time."
"Time," Sam said a large ball of dread filling her stomach. "Time for what?"
"You know," Kristina said her eyes darting around making sure nobody was listening to them. "To take the next step."
"And that would be…" Sam said needing Kristina to spell it out for her. She had an inkling what her little sister was trying to say but she wasn't going to make it easy for her. When she just glared at her and her lips pursed tightly, Sam shook her head. "If you can't even say it Krissy…you aren't ready."
"Sex," Kristina whispered quickly, her face flushing. "We are ready to have sex."
"Really," Sam said skeptically. "You think at fifteen you are ready to have sex with your boyfriend of two weeks…really?"
"How young were you?" Krissy asked arching one eyebrow.
"Too young," Sam said immediately. She looked away and wished she knew the words to talk Kristina out of her decision. Fifteen was too young to even think about having sex. Especially with a boy she didn't really know.
"I really like him," Krissy insisted. "He's a great guy…and he cares about me."
"You know this after two weeks," Sam said doubtfully.
"Yes," Kristina said after a moment of silence had gone by.
"Okay," Sam said setting her coffee down beside her purse. She grasped both of Krissy's hands in hers and scooted closer. "I know what it's like to be young and to think you are in love. To think you've found the perfect boy who understands you and just…makes you feel special. But…sex is a big deal Krissy. And your first time…you can never get that back."
"Kiefer does understand me," Krissy said as she stared down at her hands.
"Can't you give it a little more time?" Sam asked hopefully.
"No!" Krissy said loudly. She felt her face flushing again and closed her eyes willing the embarrassment away. "I'm ready now."
Sam sighed and looked down at her hands. "So…am I test person before you tell mom?"
"What? Why would I tell mom?" Krissy asked confused.
"Because she would want to know," Sam said honestly. Alexis would more than want to know, she would demand to know…and most likely put a stop to whatever Krissy and Kiefer were planning.
"Mom doesn't have to know," Kristina stated clearly. "This is my decision and I've made it already."
"So…why tell me?" Sam asked, it was her turn to be confused. Kristina had to know that she would have been against this.
"I'm going to need…protection," Krissy whispered.
"You want me to buy you condoms," Sam said in disbelief. First Krissy could barely say the word sex and now she couldn't even buy her own protection. She was definitely not ready to have sex. "Krissy…though I am happy you are thinking about protection-"
"Not condoms," Kristina cut her off. "Kiefer is going to take care of that…but I want…birth control."
"You want to go on the pill," Sam said surprised she was capable of being shocked even more.
"I think it would be the smart decision," Kristina pointed out.
"Yeah…smart." Sam said closing her eyes. "Well you can go to your doctor and they'll give you a prescription-"
"I can't go to GH," Kristina said cutting her off again. "They'll tell mom. I was hoping you could help me."
Sam stared at her little sister and she felt like she was staring at a complete stranger. It felt like just last week she had been reading her a stack of books before bed or pushing her on the swings. And now Kristina wanted her to get her birth control? Where had the time gone?
"I guess you could go to the woman's clinic," Sam said uneasily.
"Will you take me?" Kristina asked as she chewed on her bottom lip. She looked just as uneasy and the way her fingers were tapping on the lid of her coffee betrayed her nerves.
"I can," Sam said softly. She knew this was wrong. That she shouldn't be the one having this conversation with her and that she definitely shouldn't agree to take her to the woman's clinic. Alexis deserved to know what was going on with Kristina and this was a huge break in Sam and Alexis' mutual decision to be honest with one another.
"When?" Krissy asked. "I mean…can it be soon?"
"Yeah," Sam said. "I have to work today…and I'm not sure about tomorrow. But Friday?"
"Okay…great," Kristina said trying to sound excited but she failed miserably. She just looked uncomfortable and nervous. "Thank you Sam…it helps knowing I can go to you."
"I want you to know you can always come to me…for anything," Sam said earnestly. "But I also want you to take these next two days to really think this through. Your first time is special Krissy. Really special."
"I know that," Kristina said standing up. "And Kiefer is a special guy." She fidgeted with her clothes and hair before turning to smile at Sam. "Thank you for meeting me…and for the latte. And for being there."
"I'm always here," Sam said softly before standing up and hugging her sister. She walked her out of the park and watched as she headed back towards the library where she was supposed to be studying with friends. Sam didn't move until she lost sight of Kristina. Then she headed down the street towards her car. She climbed into her car and set her latte in a cup holder before throwing her purse into the passenger seat. She then preceded to smack her steering wheel, wishing it was Kiefer instead.
She didn't care what Kristina said. That girl she'd just spent the last fifteen minutes with, she wasn't ready to have sex. She was scared and nervous and crying out for somebody to intercede but Sam didn't know how to reach her without sounding like a hypocrite. Kristina had gone to her and now it was up to Sam to help her through this. She just hoped Krissy took the next two days and really thought it through. Sam didn't care how special Kiefer was…he was pressuring her little sister for sex and that wasn't happening.
Sam made it to McCall and Jackal and record time and she barely took in her surroundings until she slammed through the office door. She glared at Spinelli who was typing quickly on his laptop. She threw her purse again, this time across the office before she began pacing back and forth in front of her desk.
"So I need you to calm me down before I go pummel Krissy's boyfriend," Sam said running her hands through her hair.
"Um…what did the Goddess in Training's suitor do now?" Spinelli asked confused.
"He is pressuring my little sister for sex!" Sam yelled grabbing the stapler off her desk before throwing it too across the room.
Spinelli stared at the dent the metal staple had made in the wall before standing up and taking a small step towards one of his closest friends, who was obviously on edge. "Are you sure that The Deceptive One is really pressuring-" when Sam turned her glare on him again he held up both hands. "Ok, so Fair Samantha is most positive that he is…while violence has always been Stonecold and Fair Samantha's response to situations…that probably isn't the best solution."
"I wanna hurt him," Sam muttered clenching her fists.
"I can see that," Spinelli said looking around the room, desperately searching for something to calm Sam down. When his eyes landed on his laptop and he remembered the work he was doing for Stonecold and knew it was as good a distraction as any. "Maybe while Fair Samantha is thinking of an acceptable way to handle The Deceptive One…she also wouldn't mind helping her business partner with a job that will require…a little B and E?"
"The case from this morning requires breaking and entering?" Sam asked confused.
"No," Spinelli said quickly. "The client never showed this morning but The Jackal has been working most diligently for Stonecold on finding the proof of Vixinella's guilt in The Golden Child's shooting."
"And Jason has asked you to break in somewhere?" Sam asked her skepticism written all over her face.
"No," Spinelli said quickly. "I was just waiting for Stonecold to call so I could inform him of the latest development but he is meeting with Mr. Sir and I was told no interruptions."
"Yeah," Sam said closing her eyes. She could still feel the anger coursing through her veins and it was taking everything inside of her to stop from storming out of the office and finding Kiefer Bauer but Spinelli was trying so hard to distract her. Besides, she was supposed to be finding out the truth for Michael. He had hired her. "So what do you need me to do?"
******
Elizabeth sat in her living room and stared at the television even though it was off. She'd called Lucky to meet her after exhausting all her options of putting off telling him the truth. Sam wasn't being reasonable, after everything she'd done in the past she thought she had the right to be all high and mighty now. Elizabeth wished she could just sit back and let Sam do her worst. But she couldn't.
Because she didn't know what Lucky would believe. There had been a time she'd known exactly how he would have reacted. He would have believed anything Elizabeth had said. It didn't matter what other people had said, she'd always had a halo where Lucky was concerned. But now…after Jason…Lucky was different. And Sam and Lucky, their friendship ran deep.
She hated it. She wanted to put an end to it but Lucky had already told her on more than one occasion that Sam had been there for him when Elizabeth had deserted him. He didn't blame her for leaving him, he'd been a mess with the drugs and the affair with Maxie. But Sam had stood by him. Had helped him realize that people make mistakes, horrible mistakes, but they can come back from them.
And apparently Sam was one of those people. She'd done horrendous things to Elizabeth, Lucky and to Jason and look, he was bending over backwards to get Sam back…according to hospital gossip. She didn't understand it. She couldn't see what was so special about Sam. But everybody was singing her praises lately. Even Robin and Patrick.
But Elizabeth couldn't say anything bad against Sam. She'd look ungrateful and ridiculous, considering Sam had saved Jake…for the second time. And Elizabeth was grateful. Her children meant everything to her. But it didn't matter what Sam did. Elizabeth would never be able to forgive her for the past. Sam may have fooled some people, but Elizabeth knew trash when she saw it.
She was so lost in her thoughts that when the knock came on the door she jumped. She closed her eyes and took one last deep breath before hurrying towards the door. She didn't want to do this. She knew it was going to wreck everything. Lucky and her were finally at a good place. This thing with Nicholas was just a mistake. Sam should have been able to understand that.
"Hey," Lucky said stepping inside. He leaned in and kissed her gently before looking around the empty living room. "Where are the boys?"
"I dropped them off at Grams," Elizabeth said wrapping her arms around her stomach. She followed him over to the couch before sitting beside him. "I thought…we need to talk."
"Sounds serious," Lucky said smiling. He reached over grabbing one of her hands with his. "I wanted to talk to you too."
"Really?" Elizabeth asked squeezing his hand. "Why don't you go first?"
"Are you sure?" Lucky asked before scooting closer to her. "Okay, so I have been wanting to do this for weeks. Okay, that's a lie, it's been over a month. But I could never find the right time or the guts to do it."
"Do what?" Elizabeth asked confused.
"You know how much I love you," Lucky said rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "And I know we've been through a lot. That I put you through a lot. I never thought we would be here again. But we started slow and we've found our way back to this happy place. Where we were before I destroyed everything."
"Lucky," Elizabeth said growing uncomfortable. She probably should have gone first.
"But we're happy now," Lucky said taking her other hand in his. "Aren't we?"
"Yes," Elizabeth said nodding her head. She was happy with Lucky. He made her feel safe. He was what she'd always wanted for herself.
"It may have taken us awhile to get here again but I think we're ready," Lucky said letting go of one hand to dig in his pocket. "I've been carrying this around in my pocket for a long time."
"Lucky," Elizabeth said her eyes wide as she stared at the jewelry box. This couldn't be happening. Life couldn't be this cruel to her.
"I know it may be too soon but we love each other," Lucky said seriously. "That's most of the battle…right?"
"Lucky," Elizabeth said scooting away from him.
"I love you Elizabeth," Lucky said holding out the ring box. "You are what I want. You are what I always wanted. You, those boys and our family."
"I love you too Lucky," Elizabeth said her eyes filling with tears. "So much and I've always wanted you. Since I was a teenager. But…this is really soon. We just recently got together."
"I think we've waited long enough," Lucky said softly. He held out the ring box and smiled when she finally took it from his hand. "I will never…hurt you again. I swear to you."
"I know," Elizabeth said quietly as she opened the ring box. She had to shake her head when she saw the ring. Of course it was perfect. Exactly what she would have picked out. Lucky did know her after all. She pulled out the ring and stared at it before looking at him. "I don't want to hurt you either."
"You won't…unless you say no," Lucky joked chuckling when Elizabeth smiled at him. He took the ring, grabbing her left hand gently before sliding the ring on the right finger. "A perfect fit."
"It's beautiful," Elizabeth said softly. She looked at her hand, in his, and knew that she had to grab onto him with both hands. She had to talk to Sam again. She couldn't destroy this. She was finally getting what she wanted. What her boys wanted.
"Marry me Elizabeth," Lucky said his own eyes tearing up.
Elizabeth closed her eyes as she nodded her head rapidly. "Yes…of course I'll marry you." She laughed when he whooped and picked her up, carrying her towards the stairs. This was what she wanted. Sam would understand. She had too.
******
"Can you hear me Spinelli?" Sam asked hiding in the shadows of the building she was about to break into. It hadn't taken her long to jump on board with Spinelli's plan to find Dr. Devlin's tape recorder. Planning the break in had taken time but it had taken her mind off of Kristina and Kiefer for at least awhile, plus it was helping Jason and Michael.
"Yes Fair Samantha," Spinelli said through her earpiece. "Loud and clear."
"Great," Sam said softly. She looked around and knew the only way to break into the building would be from an air duct. She was small enough to fit and Spinelli was going to work his magic on the security cameras. "I'm climbing up towards the roof now."
"Wait," Spinelli said as the nerves set in. Jason had specifically told him to find out what he could on Dr. Devlin but to wait for him before doing anything. Not only had Spinelli ignored his orders he had dragged Sam into it too. He wasn't going to be pleased.
"What?"
"Maybe this isn't the best idea," Spinelli suggested. "Stonecold would probably want us to wait for him to help and-"
"It's a little late for that now Spinelli," Sam said as she finished climbing up the ladder onto the roof. She looked around before spotting the spot she and Spinelli had picked off of the building specs. "Did you mess with the cameras?"
"Yes," Spinelli said his voice quavering. He had this big ball of anxiety sitting in his gut, this was a bad idea. And it had been his. Jason was going to kill him. "Fair Samantha…are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Spinelli," Sam said already inside the air duct. "I'm already inside. Now just give me a couple minutes to traverse inside here."
Spinelli took a long drink from the bottle of orange soda on his desk and tried desperately to calm his racing heart. Sam was used to doing things like this. Breaking into a building was like second nature to her. She was most likely right, nothing was going to happen. She'd be in and out of there without anyone noticing.
"I'm in," Sam said after a moment. "Now where does it say the recorder is?" She followed Spinelli's directions and started searching through all the different evidence boxes but she didn't start getting frustrated until she realized how unorganized they were. "It's not here Spinelli."
"According to the PCPD computers…it is."
"While they're wrong," Sam said rolling her eyes. She closed her eyes and raised her arms, stretching her back out. She'd gotten cramped moving around in the air duct and now she had to dig through more boxes.
"Maybe Fair Samantha should just get out of there," Spinelli said before his eyes settled on something on his computer. "In fact, get out now."
"What? Why?" Sam asked confused. She'd already moved onto another box and was busy searching through it.
"Fair Samantha abort! Abort the mission!" Spinelli said loudly jumping out of his chair.
"Spinelli," Sam whispered trying to calm him down. She put the lid back on the box when she realized Dr. Devlin's recorder wasn't in there either. She was just moving on to another box when she heard the door open behind her. She tried to duck out of the way but she knocked her flashlight to the ground and the loud clang as it hit the cement ground gave away her position in the room.
"Hands where I can see them," a voice she recognized said.
"Hey Lucky," Sam said raising both her hands as she turned around. She smiled innocently when Lucky slowly lowered his gun. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Sam…what are you doing here?" Lucky asked confused. He tucked the gun back into his holster and crossed his arms over his chest as he eyed her suspiciously.
"Um…" Sam said looking around, racking her brain as she tried to think of a believable lie.
"The truth Sam," Lucky said seriously. He knew her well enough to know she was trying to formulate some story that could possibly explain how she had gotten into one of the PCPD's storage rooms.
"I'm on a case," Sam sighed. She wasn't going to tell him the entire truth. But she could at least give him a little so he would hopefully let this go. "Michael hired me…to find out who shot him."
"Dr. Devlin shot him," Lucky stated confused.
"Yes," Sam agreed. "But he didn't do it on his own. Somebody hired him. Michael wants to know who."
"Do you think it's a good idea to work for a seventeen year old traumatized boy?" Lucky asked softly.
"Yes," Sam said just as softly. "He's hurt and he's angry. He has a right to know who put him in that hospital bed. Who took away over a year of his life. If I can help him do that…I have to try."
"Ok," Lucky said but then he looked pointedly around the storage room. "What does this case have to do with breaking into one of the PCPD's storage rooms? I'm assuming you broke in. I doubt Mac let you in."
"Well…no," Sam admitted her face flushing when she met his angry gaze. "I broke in. It seemed quicker than going to Mac…or to you. This way I could get what I needed and be out…nobody was supposed to catch me." She still had the earpiece in her ear and she could hear Spinelli breathing heavily in her ear. He was probably close to having a heart attack. Getting caught red handed in the PCPD was not going to be good for their PI licenses.
"You can't break into the PCPD's property Sam," Lucky said shaking his head at her.
"I know I shouldn't," Sam said truthfully. "But this is important Lucky."
"I know it is," Lucky said walking towards her. "What exactly are you looking for anyways?"
"Dr. Devlin's recorder…why?" Sam asked suspiciously.
"Because this will go quicker if I help you," Lucky said rolling his eyes. "These storage rooms are notoriously disorganized."
"Tell me something I don't know," Sam said looking around the room in disgust. "How do you guys ever find anything in this place?"
"Takes awhile," Lucky said smiling. He began searching through boxes alongside her and soon they were making headway.
"How did you know somebody was in here anyway?" Sam asked curiously.
"Saw the light," Lucky said nodding towards the flashlight she was holding as they searched through the boxes.
"Oh," Sam said glaring at the flashlight in her hands. There had been a time that getting caught would never have happened. She'd been so good at breaking into places. She'd gone soft since she'd moved to Port Charles.
"So other than breaking into places you shouldn't be…how are you?" Lucky asked after a couple minutes of silence had gone by.
"I'm good," Sam said smiling at him.
"You've seemed happier lately," Lucky commented earning himself another searching look from Sam. "I've seen you around town. I've talked to Carly and Lulu…seemed Jason and you caused a bit of a stir at Spinelli and Maxie's wedding. Heard you caught the bouquet."
"It was Spinelli's idea," Sam said chuckling. "He has such high hopes for me and Jason. He has been playing matchmaker since we got back from Mexico." When she realized who she was talking to she could feel her face flushing and she bit her lip. Lucky wasn't Jason's biggest fan and she couldn't blame him for that. Which is why she didn't like to talk about Jason to him. "But I also hung out with my mom and sisters. Plus watching Maxie and Spinelli get married was amazing. They are so in love."
"I never would have thought Maxie would be married this young," Lucky admitted.
"I don't think she did either," Sam agreed. "But they work."
"Yeah," Lucky agreed.
"So…how are you?" Sam asked already knowing Elizabeth must not have told him yet. There was no way he'd be this calm and happy if she had confessed to having an affair with Nicholas.
"I'm great actually," Lucky said grinning. He put the cover back on the box he was digging through before turning to face her. "So I told Elizabeth I wouldn't tell anyone yet but I have to tell somebody."
"What?" Sam asked staring at him.
"We're getting married," Lucky said watching as Sam froze, her mouth dropping open in shock.
"You are engaged," Sam stated slowly. "To Elizabeth."
"Why so shocked?" Lucky asked confused. "I told you I was thinking about it."
"Thinking about it and actually asking her to marry you is a big difference Lucky," Sam pointed out.
"I love her Sam," Lucky said softly. "We've both made mistakes, mine a bit worse than hers. But we are finally in a good place. We're a family again."
"Really," Sam said looking down at the ground.
"You're with Jason again," Lucky said confused. "You've forgiven him for everything. Why are you so surprised that Elizabeth and I have worked things out?"
"I'm not," Sam said turning and walking away. She moved on to another box and started digging through it as she practiced telling Lucky in her mind what Elizabeth had been up to lately. But any way she said it, it was going to kill him. And he was finally happy.
"I found it," Lucky said holding out the bagged recorder.
Sam put the lid back on her box and joined him as he opened up the baggie. They both looked over the recorder and Sam sighed in disappointment when there was no recording on it. She'd been hoping this would be the break she and Jason needed to finally find the proof that Claudia had been behind the shooting. But instead it was another dead end.
"Dammit," Sam said as Lucky put the recorder back in the baggie and back in the box. "I really don't want to tell Michael that I haven't found anything."
"Have you ever thought that maybe there isn't any more evidence to find?" Lucky asked carefully.
"Yeah," Sam admitted. "But Dr. Devlin had no reason to want Sonny dead. So somebody had to hire him."
"You must have a suspect in mind," Lucky said staring at her.
"No…not really," Sam said quickly. She could see the skepticism on his face but she couldn't tell him that she and Jason suspected Claudia. At least not without asking Jason if it was okay.
"Fine, you don't have to tell me," Lucky said shaking his head. "But why don't I get you out of here before somebody catches you in here. Somebody who won't be as willing to let you go."
"Ok," Sam said putting her flashlight in her pocket. She followed him out of the storage room and then let him lead her out of the building. "Thank you Lucky."
"Don't ever do it again Sam," Lucky warned her. "I won't always be the one to catch you. If you need something, just ask me…ok?"
"Ok," Sam said nodding her head. She turned to leave before turning back to him. "Congratulations…on your engagement. I hope you guys are really happy together."
"We will be," Lucky said smiling. "And I hope you and Jason are happy. But just be careful Sam. Being with Jason…you always seem to end up hurt."
"I could say the same to you," Sam said softly. "But I won't. Just be happy."
Sam waved one last time before walking out of the PCPD. She smiled at Mac who was behind the main desk. She knew he was going to wonder why she was there and start asking questions.
Sam made her way towards her car, which was parked in an alley. She pulled the parking ticket off of her windshield and tossed it towards the passenger seat. It was like her fifth one this month. She was going to have to go in and pay for some of them soon. Or end up in court.
It didn't take her long to get back to McCall and Jackal and she hurried towards her office, wanting to fill Spinelli in on what she'd found in the storage room, or what she hadn't found. There was no recording to incriminate Claudia or anyone.
"Spinelli," Sam said walking through the door. She froze when she saw Spinelli sitting in his chair with Jason leaning against his desk, his arms crossed over his chest as he gave her the famous Stonecold glare. "Hey Jason…I didn't expect to see you here."
"I can see that," Jason said.
"I was just…" Sam started to say but trailed off when Spinelli shook his head.
"Breaking into one of the PCPD storage rooms to look for Dr. Devlin's recorder," Jason said for her.
"Uh…yeah," Sam said slowly looking between the two of them. "Spinelli told me how you asked him to look for something…anything of Dr. Devlin's."
"Yes, look for something," Jason said nodding his head. "I said nothing about actually breaking into the PCPD."
"Well, this was the first break we had in the case," Sam pointed out.
"Really, cause to me it looks like it was a waste of time," Jason said cocking his head to the side.
"What?" Sam asked confused.
"The recorder didn't have any recordings," Jason pointed out.
"How did you know?" Sam asked even more confused.
"Uh…it seems Fair Samantha forgot that The Jackal could hear everything through her earpiece," Spinelli said his eyes darting between Jason and Sam.
"Oh yeah," Sam said closing her eyes as she pulled the earpiece out of her ear. "So you know Lucky-"
"Caught you red handed," Jason finished for her. "What were you thinking Sam? I'm not surprised Spinelli would come up with this stupid plan but for you to actually go along with it. You could have lost your PI license."
"Lucky didn't arrest me," Sam pointed out.
"What if it hadn't been Lucky?" Jason asked loudly. He paced away from Spinelli's desk. "Anyone else would have locked you up Sam and you know it."
"But it was Lucky," Sam pointed out again.
"It was The Jackal's fault!" Spinelli cried out jumping out of his chair. When they both looked at him surprised he visibly gulped. "It was my idea to even have Sam infiltrate the PCPD. Fair Samantha needed to occupy her mind with something other then The Deceptive One and The Jackal knows how good Sam is at breaking and entering. Well, how good she usually is…"
Sam glared at Spinelli when he trailed off. "Spinelli."
"But it was The Jackal's fault," Spinelli repeated. "So don't be mad at Fair Samantha. The Jackal will face his punishment like a man." Sam and Jason both looked at each other before Sam turned her head to hide her smile. Spinelli hated seeing them fight.
"Spinelli," Jason said slowly. "I am mad that you didn't listen to me-"
"I know!" Spinelli said his voice cracking. "The Jackal made the biggest error in judgment and I drug Fair Samantha into-"
"You didn't drag me into anything," Sam interrupted him walking over to him. She laid her hand on his back trying to calm him down. "This isn't your fault Spinelli. It was just a mission that went wrong. It happens…and I can guarantee it will happen again the next time we have to-"
"There won't be a next time," Jason said glaring at the two of them.
"You are not are only client," Sam said arching one eyebrow.
"Now why don't you go home Spinelli," Sam said rubbing his back soothingly. "You and Maxie should relax and have a romantic night."
"Well, The Jackal is excited to see how Maximista has changed his room," Spinelli said not seeing Jason tense up in his excitement. "She has a plethora of ideas when it comes to our room and the rest of the penthouse."
"The penthouse?" Sam and Jason said in unison.
"Maxie is not moving into the penthouse," Jason stated.
"But now that The Jackal and Fair Maximista are husband and wife…we want to live together as a happily wedded couple should," Spinelli said confused.
"Then get your own place!" Jason said loudly making Spinelli jump. "Or move into Maxie's apartment."
"The Blonde One has already told Fair Maximista that that isn't an option and we have to come up with other arrangements," Spinelli said staring at his friend and mentor with hurt in his eyes.
"Why don't you go home Spinelli," Sam said quietly squeezing his shoulder. When he turned to look at her she nodded her head in encouragement. Jason was going to hurt his feelings even more if he stayed and Sam had a better chance of calming him down without Spinelli there.
"Maybe Fair Samantha is right," Spinelli said before he packed up his laptop and hurried out of the office.
"Maxie is not moving into the penthouse," Jason said after Spinelli shut the door.
"Sounds like she already has," Sam said hiding a smile. She set her earpiece on her desk and headed towards the mini fridge; grabbing two beers in one hand. She took both tops off before walking back to Jason and offering him one.
"What was he thinking?" Jason asked honestly confused.
"That it was his home too," Sam said smiling sadly at him. "Honestly Jason…Spinelli probably didn't think it was a big deal…moving Maxie in with you guys. She's his wife, that's his home, it was that easy for him."
"I can't live with Maxie."
"She's not that bad Jason," Sam said before she started giggling when Jason grimaced. "Okay, so she isn't your biggest fan. But I'm sure Maxie has a plan. She is probably already looking for their own place. She can't want to live with you either."
"They have to find another place," Jason said trying to picture what living with Maxie and Spinelli would be like but it was impossible. The idea was too ludicrous to imagine.
"I will talk to Maxie," Sam said making a mental note to do just that as soon as possible. Otherwise Jason was likely to open his mouth and say something mean to Maxie that would also hurt Spinelli. "How was your meeting with Sonny?"
"No," Jason said after taking a long drink from his beer. "We are not finished."
"Finished with what?" Sam asked innocently.
"I don't want you doing anything that puts your PI license at risk," Jason said seriously. "Things like today, can't happen Sam."
"But I'm good at it," Sam said before sighing. "Normally I'm good at it."
"You love being a PI Sam," Jason said softly. "If you did something for me…and your license got taken away…"
"I didn't do it for you," Sam explained. "Or not just for you. I told Lucky the truth, that I need to find out the truth just as much as you do…for Michael. He came to me Jason. He asked me for help. I'm not letting him down."
"How would Michael feel if you lost your job because of something you did for his case?"
"Terrible," Sam admitted biting her lip. "Ok, I'll make a deal with you. Before I do anything that could possibly put my job at risk…I'll run it by you."
"Promise?" Jason asked reaching out for her hand. He pulled her towards him until they were touching.
"Promise," Sam agreed. She laid her head against his chest relaxing when his free arm wrapped around her. Being in Jason's arms was like coming home. And after the day she'd had…she needed his arms around her. "So you heard everything? With Lucky?"
"Yes," Jason said nodding his head. He kissed the top of her head when he felt her take a deep breath.
"So you heard Lucky announce his great news," Sam said sarcastically. "That he and Elizabeth are going to tie the knot…again."
"Yes," Jason said quietly.
"And you also heard that I just congratulated him like I approved or something," Sam said shaking her head. "I didn't tell him how this was going to be a big mistake. That Elizabeth hasn't been honest with him and that she is keeping this big secret from him."
"Sam…"
"I couldn't tell him," Sam said softly. "I was standing there, listening to him go on and on about how he loves her and she loves him and how they are one big happy family again…and from his eyes they are. I couldn't destroy that." She pulled away so she could see into his eyes. "He's happy. He's honest to God happy."
"So you aren't going to tell him?" Jason asked carefully.
"I don't think he'd believe me if I did," Sam admitted. "Elizabeth has him snowed…but maybe she's telling the truth. Maybe being with Nicholas is one big giant mistake and she's done. Maybe she is going to marry Lucky and they'll be that happy family Lucky thinks they are."
"They could be," Jason agreed.
Sam stared into his eyes and shook her head. "I wish I believed that." She leaned up, kissing him softly before pulling away. She walked over towards her desk and started putting things away. She knew in her gut that Elizabeth wasn't done with Nicholas. It was the past repeating itself. Two years ago she'd wanted Jason and had done everything in her power to have him, even though she'd nearly destroyed Lucky and Sam in the process. Sam couldn't help but wonder who would be destroyed this time?