With a million thoughts running through her mind, Sam sat in the passenger seat of Jason's vehicle. It seemed like for every step forward she took two back. She wondered if she should have stayed in Miami, everyone she loved would still be safe. Of course, she would have been dead by now or at least wishing she was. Instead, she ran here to Port Charles, straight to Jason and dragging Carly and Sonny along for the ride. She's lost enough people she loved for a lifetime and didn't want to want to lose them too.
Jason kept looking over at Sam and he could see the pain and doubt on her face. Guilt was there too and that's what had him worried. "Sam everything is going to be fine, I won't let anyone hurt you."
"It's not me I'm worried about. It's everyone else, you, Carly, Sonny, Michael, Morgan… The list goes on. Everyone I care about is in danger and it's my fault entirely," she cries out.
"Is it your fault that Manny killed those men?"
"No."
"Is it your fault you worked late that night?"
"No, an emergency with one of our accounts came up."
"It's not your fault that he saw you. You did nothing wrong; it was Manny. He is sick and unfortunately you have become an obsession."
"If I wasn't here you would all be safe. I wasn't thinking I just needed somewhere to run."
Stopped at a red light Jason takes Sam's hand and looks into her eyes, "I don't care what the reason is or how dangerous it is. If you ever need somewhere to run Sam, run to me. Just Run to me. I will protect you."
Her eyes well up with tears and she squeezes his hand, "Thank you Jason, I don't know what I would do without you."
As Sam and Jason pulled up to the warehouse, Max came running up to the SUV. "We spotted Manny inside and he opened fire. Cody was hit but he managed to shoot Manny before he got away. We followed the blood trail down to the docks. It looks like he fell in the harbor. I have men watching the piers and a few in boats out in the water. So far, we haven't located him."
"Keep looking, I want him found. There's no telling what he is capable of and Sam isn't going to be safe until he's dead."
Sam asks, "Where's Cody? Is he going to be ok?"
"He's going to be fine. It was a clean shot through the shoulder; Milo took him to a safe house and the doctor is meeting them there," Max assured her.
After searching the harbor and surrounding docks for hours to no avail, Jason and Sam start heading back to Harborview Towers. Jason can tell Sam has a lot on her mind as he watches the different expressions play on her face. She turns to look at him, "Do you really think Manny is dead?"
He sighs, "No and I won't until I see a body. He could be hiding out somewhere."
"How would you feel about giving me some shooting lessons? It's been a long time since Danny showed me what to do. I don't want to be afraid if Manny comes after me," Sam says cautiously.
"Actually I think that's a great idea and I know just the place to take you," Jason responds turning the SUV around and heading out of Port Charles.
After a few minutes of driving in silence, Sam asks, "Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see, we are almost there," he tells her turning down a gravel road before coming to a stop in the clearing. They both get out and walk around to the front of the vehicle. "After my accident, I used to come here to be alone and I actually stayed in this boxcar. I liked it because it was quiet; no one is around for miles. You can see the stars come out at night; it's really peaceful here."
Sam looks around at the old boxcar at the edge of the clearing. Inhaling she smells the pine trees and fresh air, "It's beautiful out here. I can see why you liked it. I can also relate to wanting to be alone. It was hard to lose my parents, but at least I still had Danny. When he died, I felt like I wanted to run away from it all. I was overwhelmed by everyone's sympathy and tired of hearing the condolences. I just wanted to be by myself."
"It was hard losing him. I am amazed at your strength; plenty of people would have given up after everything you have had to deal with. You haven't and that's something I really admire about you."
"I am still scared. Manny might not be dead and I don't want to be caught off guard if he comes after me again."
Jason walks around picking up cans and setting them on a fallen tree. He steps back and makes a line in the dirt, "Come stand here, I want you to try shooting those cans off."
She walks to where he directed her and stands with her feet about shoulder width apart. Releasing the safety, she raises the gun up and squeezes with her right trigger finger. The bullet misses the can and she tries a few more times before getting frustrated. "My aim is horrible!"
"Sam I want you to try something, put your hands up and form a triangle with your fingers and thumbs. Focus on your hands and bring them towards your eyes while keeping them in focus. As she does what he says, her hands wind up in front of her left eye. "Just what I thought, you are left eye dominant. Have you ever tried shooting with your left hand instead?"
"No I don't think so; I am right handed," she answers switching the gun to her left hand.
"Before you try shooting again, I want you to take a step forward with your right foot. Place your weight on that leg and bring the gun up with your left hand, using the right one to steady it." Sam listens to him and does as she's told. "Great now when you aim you need to make sure you line up the sights. Don't rush and when they are lined up with the target, fire it." She takes her time before she pulls the trigger. This time the bullet hits the can causing it to fall over making her grin.
"Great now do it again," he commands.
Sam aims and fires quickly, missing her target. "Damn it!"
"I said take your time. You don't need to rush it. Just concentrate and fire when you are ready."
This time she does as he said and knocks another can off, continuing down the line she hits every target. Jason sets the back up and the carry on in this pattern for a little while longer.
"You seem to have got the hang of it once you switched hands. I think we've practiced enough for today so let's head home and make some dinner."
"Sounds good to me, I'm hungry," she laughs when her stomach growls. They get back inside the automobile and head home, both feeling a little more confident in Sam's ability to defend herself if needed.
"I could whip up some pasta and a salad if that sounds good to you," Jason offers.
"Yum, that sounds amazing. Would you like some help?"
Jason starts laughing, "No thank you. You can't even boil water."
"You are just being mean, I guess you won't be getting any dessert tonight," Sam says laughing when his expression changes into a scowl.