IN THE MIDST OF IT ALL
Chapter 25
Sam wakes slowly in the tiny hospital bed. It seems even smaller with Trent curled up next to her. Jason's snoring lightly in a chair beside the bed with a sleeping Tessa tucked into his lap. What started out as some quiet time with the kids turned into nap time for all of them. The nurse must have seen them all asleep and not wanted to disturb them because Sam can tell by the throbbing in her leg that she missed a dose of pain medication. She reaches across Trent's body for the call button to alert the nurse.
The nurse comes in quietly, a gentle smile on her lips.
"Your kids are beautiful," she notes, running her hand through Trent's curly hair. "This one here is too adorable. Look at how long those eye lashes are."
The nurse makes more idle chatter to distract Sam from the pain while getting the prescribed pills.
"Dr. Lee came by earlier," the nurse continues. "She said she'll be back in about an hour before she gets off work to talk to you and your husband. Something about some tests she ran."
"Really? She wants to talk to Jason and me about them?"
"That's what she said." The nurse turns her attention to taking Sam's vital statistics, not really paying all that much attention to Sam. "Everything looks good. You'll probably be released soon."
By now, Jason is waking up and trying not to stir Tessa.
"How soon?" he asks with a yawn. He stretches the best he can, cringing when he feels the tingling in his arm that has fallen asleep.
"Maybe another day or two. Her doctor will let her know tomorrow."
The nurse makes a few more notes in Sam's chart before leaving the family for their last few minutes of visiting time.
"Should we wake them up? If they keep on sleeping this close to dinner, it'll be almost impossible to get them down at bedtime tonight."
"We'll let Carly worry about it," Jason teases. "She lets them run wild over there anyway."
"Yeah, no wonder they love going over there so much," Sam laughs, shaking her head. "I am grateful that she's been taking care of them for us, though. But I do miss them. I can't wait to get out of here, out of this cast, and back home with my babies. But what are we going to do if Elizabeth doesn't wake up soon? Like it or not, we're going to have to take her baby home with us. We'll have to hire a nanny and definitely get the nursery set up."
"We should just wait. Mrs. Hardy seems like she's ready to start trouble for us on this. And right now, I just don't have it in me to fight her on this. If she wants to keep the baby, then that's fine with me."
"So, nothing has changed for you?" Sam asks, subconsciously bundling Trent closer to her while he does the same with Tessa. "Holding him in your arms didn't make any difference?"
"It did," he says after a moment. "It helped me see that hating him wouldn't be a problem. He's a baby, Sam. He's innocent and helpless and doesn't deserve that from me. But I don't look at him and see myself. I don't hold him and feel like he's a part of my soul. It's like . . ."
He pauses to think, trying to come up with a way to explain it to her.
"Remember that day we snuck into Alcazar's and I had to take Skye's baby from you? Holding Elizabeth's baby is like when I held Lila Rae. No bond. No connection. Nothing. Just a baby to me. Like Lila Rae. Like Spencer. Like that baby belonging to the lady on the 12th floor of our building who needed help with her groceries the other day. I feel for them the same as I feel for Elizabeth's baby."
Sam is sad for him. She couldn't imagine birthing a child and feeling no connection to it. But she guesses it's different in a man's case. And even more so in Jason's case because for nearly half the pregnancy, he didn't even know about the baby. And then after, he had as little contact possible with Elizabeth, just a few appointments here and there. He didn't get the chance to bond with the baby en utero the way mothers get to. She just hopes that changes. No child deserves to feel unwanted.
"Just try to remember what you said earlier, Jason. He's just a baby. He didn't ask to be here, but he is."
"You're right," Jason sighs. "And it's our responsibiity as the adults in this situation to make sure that he is loved and feels wanted. I just wish he wasn't a package deal. I have a bad feeling that we haven't seen the worst with Elizabeth yet. Now that the baby is here, I think she'll be more determined than ever to try to make me a part of her family."
"Well, she can't have you," Sam says resolutely. "And one of these days, she'll figure that out."
"You better figure it out soon!"
Sam and Jason give each other amused looks as they hear her words echoed in a totally different context. The door flies open and Gia breezes inside, her cell phone held to her ear with one hand, and her briefcase in the other. She must be there on official business.
Gia sees the sleeping children and immediately lowers her voice, giving Sam a contrite look and mouthing the word 'Sorry' before getting back into it with the unlucky person on the other end.
They listen to her rant for a few more minutes before she hangs up the phone with one last threat.
"Don't let it happen again, or else my client will own your pitiful little station, Mr. Scorpio."
On that, she hangs up the phone and tosses it into her purse.
"Sorry again about that," she apologizes, finding another chair in the room to sit in. "That, as you probably could tell, was Mac Scorpio getting the business end of my temper over that stunt he pulled earlier with questioning you without counsel."
"It wasn't so much that," Sam says, shaking her head. "I'd answer questions all day long about Ric and what he did. That psycho tried to kill me and Elizabeth. But I just couldn't believe that Mac came here to my hospital room and accused me of being behind it all."
"He had just spoken with Mrs. Hardy," Gia tries to explain. "She filled his head with her version of events. And to be perfectly honest, knowing only Mrs. Hardy's side of things, it does make more sense that you were the one in the wrong instead of Ric."
"So he walks in here and treat her like a suspect? And what about the way she had just saved Elizabeth and the baby's life, at great risk to her own life? Did they take any of that into account? No, Mac just once again took the word of a hysterical "respectable" witness over that of someone like Sam and me. It happened during Kristina's kidnapping. He wouldn't even listen to reason. He wouldn't even consider any other explanations besides the one that said Sam was guilty."
"Well, it's over now," Gia assures him. "Everything Ric has done is out in the open. He's being thoroughly investigated now in this, and many other matters, including the cover up of the incident here at the hospital with Sam getting the accidental dose of birth control. Cruz was with the other officers when they found the original reports hidden in Ric's office study. And I know you didn't see the need in Elizabeth getting in trouble for this, but if Cruz had continued to cover this up, it would have cost him his job. Elizabeth is going to have to face the music on this."
"That could be a good thing. She did this to herself and has never seemed to be particularly sorry about it," Jason reminds them. "She seems to believe she's justified in all her actions because of her insistence that Sam's keeping me from being with her. Nothing we've done can convince her otherwise. Maybe some court appointed therapy will help."
"I'd think this would all but kill her chances at custody," Sam guesses. "So that means we'd get custody of the baby. Are you sure you can handle that, Jason? Having the baby full time?"
"That may not be an issue."
Dr. Lee walks into the room with Robin close behind. They both have files in their hands and serious expressions on their faces.
"We need to speak with both of you alone," Robin says.
Sam looks at them both, trying to figure out what's going on, but can't tell from their expressions. She just knows it's something serious.
"Gia, could you take the kids home? Jason will be there to take care of them tonight," Sam insists, despite Jason's protest. She turns to him and gives him a look that seems to make him wilt. "Jason, you've been here with me all day and all night. I'm fine now. The doctor will be releasing me soon. The kids need you."
"Okay," he relents, before turning to face Gia. "I'll be home soon."
"Okay," Gia nods. "I'll have them at my place."
She goes to the bed where Sam is and reaches down for the still sleeping baby. Jason manages to wake Tessa up, the perky child rising instantly. She eagerly goes with Gia after giving Sam a kiss and a hug.
"Cute kids," Robin comments. "I heard the two of you had them, but I've never met them."
"You and Patrick will have to come over for dinner or something," Sam offers. "Tessa loves meeting new people. She's be thrilled to be able to hear stories about Jason when he was younger."
"There will be none of that," Jason laughs to cover for his nervousness. He walks over to Sam and perches on the side of her bed, putting a protective arm around her. Like Sam, he's not sure what to expect from the women, but he can sense it's something serious.
"I can see the two of you are wondering why we're here," Kelly starts. "I'm not entirely sure how to explain this. I guess I'll start with coming clean about my real reasons for wanting to do this test, even though this should technically stay between Elizabeth and I. I suppose that doesn't really matter anymore, though."
"What do you mean by real reason?" Jason is curious. "You said that with nobody except Sam there to witness the birth, you had to do DNA tests to be sure who the baby's parents were before filling out the birth certificate."
"That wasn't true," Kelly says regretfully. "It was just an excuse to get another paternity test without making you suspicious. See, at Elizabeth's last appointment, which would have been the day of the accident, I explained to her my doubts about the validity of the results of her baby's paternity test. There were computer problems at the hospital that day and several other patients' test results were affected. There was a good possibility hers was too. So I told her she'd need another test done to be certain of the baby's paternity."
"And no one told me this?" Jason asks angrily.
"Jason," Sam says soothingly, placing a calming hand on his arm. "She didn't have a chance to say anything to you. I'm not claiming that she would have told you until it became absolutely necessary. But I'm saying that she was too busy running for her life to have had the chance to tell you anything."
"You're right," he nods. "Sorry. Continue, please."
"I had a feeling that the tests were wrong, so I came up with that story I told the two of you about needing the DNA test to make sure the birth certificate was accurate. I only needed to test Jason and the baby, but I also tested Elizabeth and Sam to cover that fact."
"So were you right? What did these latest tests say? I'm not the father, am I?"
"No. You're not. Lucky is."
He just nods again, assuming there was no other possibility.
"Are you sure?" Sam wonders. "There no mistake this time?"
"I ran the tests myself as a favor to Kelly," Robin explains. "She wanted to be sure this time. Elizabeth is the baby's mother. There was no surprise there. There is no genetic connection between Jason and Elizabeth's baby. Again, that wasn't a big shock based on our suspicions going into the test. The big shock came when we ran the baby's DNA against yours, Sam. There was a match."
"What? You said that Elizabeth is the mother. How could I be a match?"
"Not that kind of match," Robin explains. "There's no doubt from the tests I ran that Elizabeth and Lucky are the parents to this baby. But the tests showed that you are genetically connected to the baby, so that means you are genetically connected to one of the parents. Has Alexis told you anything about your biological father?"
"Nothing," Sam says. "She just tells me it was some boy at school. Are you saying that Elizabeth's father or Luke Spencer could be my father?"
"I don't think so," Robin shakes her head. "After discovering your connection to the baby, I tested your DNA against both Elizabeth and Lucky. Turns out, you're related to Lucky. But not sibling close like Lulu, or even half sibling close like Nikolas. I'd say possibly a second cousin, aunt, niece, or something like that. Your father could be a cousin of Laura or an uncle of Luke's for all we know."
"And that's the problem. We just don't know," Sam sighs. "Alexis won't tell me anything. So how am I supposed to find anything out?"
Just then, there's a knock on the door and Lucky clumsily stumbles inside, a baby tucked in his arms and a look of shock on his face.
"Sorry to interrupt. But I was told to come in here."
He phrases it almost like a question and Sam can see that the baby news came as a big shock to him as well.
"Congratulations, Lucky," Jason says, giving a quick glance to the baby. "We just heard the news."
"Yeah, thanks. Sorry about . . ."
"No, don't apologize. I'm fine with things turning out this way," Jason assures him. "That baby belongs with you."
"I just wasn't expecting this. I got a call to come have another paternity test since I wasn't even tested the last time. And now I'm walking out the hospital with a baby. I don't have anything at all set up for him."
"Don't worry. We have plenty," Sam says. "Jason, how about you go call one of the guards to pack up all the stuff I bought for the baby and bring it here for Lucky. I need to have a word in private with him, if you all don't mind."
Kelly and Robin nod and leave the room. Jason gives her a look to make sure this is what she really wants.
"Are you sure you want to get into this right now?"
"I'll be fine," she assures him.
He nods and gives her a kiss. Then turns to give Lucky a warning.
"You hurt her, you deal with me."
Lucky gets a confused look on his face as Jason walks out.
"What was that all about?"
"Just Jason being Jason," she says, trying to lighten the moment. "He didn't mean anything by it. I guess he's just nervous because people don't tend to react favorably to the news that they're related to me."
It takes a few seconds before it sinks in what she said.
"Wait . . . what did you say? Related . . . how?"
"We're not sure yet," Sam shrugs. "We just found out from Kelly and Robin not five minutes before you walked in this room. Apparently Kelly had suspicions about the paternity test. Since she didn't want to come out and say to Jason that he might not be the father, she made up a story about needing to do tests to prove who the baby belonged to, since no one but me witnessed his birth. It seemed plausible to us, so we let her take the samples right then and there from me, Jason, and the baby. She didn't really need mine, but they ran it anyway and that's how they discovered a link between the baby and me through you."
"We're related?"
"Apparently," Sam nods. "But not a really close relation. Right now, we're guessing that my biological father, about whom I know absolutely nothing, is related to one of your parents."
"This is so unbelievable," Lucky says, shaking his head.
"Yeah, it is, isn't? Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear, but . . ."
"Wait, is that what you think I meant? No, Sam. That's not it at all. You're an amazing woman. I've always wondered where you got that Spencer Spirit from. Now I know you came by it honestly."
That makes her laugh. Then cry. Jason bursts in and would have tossed Lucky out if he didn't have the baby.
"What did you do to her, Spencer?"
"No, Jason. It's not what you think."
Jason carefully looks at her and realizing she's crying tears of joy.
"You're okay?" he asks to be sure.
"I think she's just a bit overwhelmed to find out about more family," Lucky smiles.
"Yeah, maybe," she nods, wiping at the tears on her cheek. "I just didn't expect this kind of reaction. Very few people . . . accept me, warts and all. But you make it sound like I carry a family legacy or something."
"The Spencers are far from perfect. Just take a look at me, my dad, or my Aunt Bobbie. And especially Carly. You're not so different from the rest of us."
He smiles when he stands, pausing before bending over to give her a tentative kiss on her cheek.
"I should really try to get him settled. But I'd like to visit with you more, if that's all right. Maybe help you figure out the mystery of who you are. That's what I do now. I'm a private detective in a town about 45 miles from here. My partner and I have our own agency."
"That's impressive," Jason nods. "Good for you. What are you going to do about the baby, though?"
"We can work from anywhere. So I'm going to talk to Crys about maybe setting up shop here for awhile, at least until Elizabeth wakes up and we can decide on a custody arrangement."
"Good luck with that," Jason sighs. "I've had serious issues trying to make a reasonable request of her."
"The way Elizabeth feels about you is unreasonable, Jason. When I left her, I honestly didn't think she'd risk all we had on the chance that you could love her back. I mean, everyone can see how devoted you are to Sam. But she was determined to try. I can't believe she thought marrying Ric was a good idea. Or what she did to you, Sam. That was just unbelievable. You're a great person for risking your life to save hers."
Sam's mouth drops wide open with the comment, so she doesn't get a chance to say anything before Lucky leaves.
"Get used to it, Baby. You're a hero to Lucky. And now that you're family to boot, I think they're going to make a big deal out of you for awhile."
"This is just so surreal, Jason," Sam gushes. "What are the chances that everything can go right for us? You finding out the baby isn't yours. I find out I have more family than I ever realized. Family that actually wants me. Ric being investigated for all the crap he's pulled. It's like both our birthdays and Christmas all rolled into one. I feel like nothing can go wrong today."
Jason smiles and pulls her close.
"Me, too. It's a good day to be us."
"Not so good," Cruz says, pushing the door opened. "I'm sorry to interrupt. You don't believe how sorry I am."
"What's going on, Cruz," Sam asks, taking Jason's hand in her own. "I thought Gia said all the talk of charges against me has been dropped."
"It's not you, Sam. It's Jason." He regretfully turns to face the man who's become a good friend over the past few months. "I have to ask you a few questions and I pray you have the right answers."
"Just say it Cruz. What am I being accused of?" Jason flat out asks.
"Murder. Someone killed Ric Lansing."
TBC . . .