A/N: Oh my gosh, thank you SO much for the amazing reviews for the last chapter! I have to admit, I was so nervous about posting it because I really wanted it to be perfect. I'm really happy you liked it so much. At least so far, lol. I have the date spread out over a couple of more chapters since I have them going over a lot of information. I know no one likes exposition on soaps, at least not as much as GH does sometimes, BUT I felt it was necessary. So I have them talking about their history a lot. I really wanted to see this onscreen. Jason asking Sam about their life together. It never really made sense to me that he would show so little interest. So if you don't want to hear them discussing it, you may want to skip the next couple of chapters. But they share some really important moments in my opinion, so if you can, stick with it. :D

Anyway, it was also really important that Sam be honest with Jason. I want to show how different Sam is from Elizabeth. So there's some heavy stuff in the next couple chapters. And heads up, these chapters are probably a lot longer than usual because they're covering so much info. This chapter was originally like 6000 words and when I saw it I was like holy crap! lol So I split it between this and the next chapter. I think I got the details of their history right, but if I didn't, please don't hesitate to correct me. :)

Enjoy!

Jen

"Tell me about our life. Tell me everything." Jason was leaning towards her intently. Sam laughed, thinking he was joking.

Jason leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest.

"I'm serious, Sam. Tell me about how we met, how we fell in love, and our entire history. From everything I've heard and everything I know about you now, our life must have been pretty perfect."

Sam stifled an uncomfortable laugh, shaking her head quickly.

"Not hardly." She admitted, before buying some time by taking a sip of wine. Jason picked up the bottle of beer in front of him and swallowed some, waiting for her to start.

Sam thought about what to tell him and decided to start at the beginning.

"When you and I met, I was involved with Sonny. He and Carly were separated and we began an affair. He told me his marriage was over and I fell in love with him. You and I?" She gestured between them.

"We didn't like each other." She laughed at his surprised expression.

"Well, Carly still loved Sonny and Michael was miserable with his parents being separated so you wanted them back together. But even then, you never made me feel bad about myself. That's not who you were. You never judged people. You always let them make their own decisions, no matter what you thought about it."

Jason nodded, absorbed in the story of their life. He had to admit, he was surprised that he would have gotten together with his best friend's ex. That had to violate some kind of bro code or something.

"So how did we end up together?" He asked before taking a bite of food. Sam swallowed her food before continuing.

"Well, the inevitable happened. Sonny realized he still loved Carly and wanted her back. But by then I was pregnant. And to keep the peace between Carly and Sonny, you took responsibility and claimed to be the father. Sonny went along with it because he could have his family but still be near his child. I moved in with you, and we pretended to be having a child together."

Jason shook his head.

"That seems pretty deceitful. I always got the impression from everyone that I never lied."

Sam nodded quickly.

"And you really didn't. You didn't see any point in lying because it always comes out. But you would lie to protect your loved ones, and you loved Carly and Michael."

Jason nodded his head, thinking about what she said. He liked to think he was a pretty honest guy now, but he knew he would lie to protect the people he loved.

"So that's when we fell in love. When we were pretending to be a couple?"

Sam laughed and shook her head again.

"Nope. We didn't pretend to be a couple, just that we had a one night stand. Carly hated me for sleeping with you almost as much as for being with Sonny. God, she made my life hell." Sam shook her head, remembering the judgment, anxiety, stress, and pain of the situation. And also the one bright spot in all of it. Her baby girl.

"You know, I never wanted children. The way I was raised, I knew I wouldn't be a good mom. Hell, I wasn't really even a good person. I was terrified. But I loved Sonny, and I really thought he would see that I was the one he loved." She rolled her eyes at her younger self. So oblivious to what was right in front of her.

"But he didn't. And I was miserable. So I took off and when you found me, I pretended that I had lost the baby."

She looked at him again and pleaded with her eyes for him to understand.

"I know it was horrible and wrong but I just couldn't be in that position anymore. But you, you didn't judge me or blame me. You stayed with me and promised to help me get settled somewhere. You told me to get some rest and then you stood watch over me. That was the night I realized that I was safe with you."

Jason stood looking out the windows on the door of the restaurant he and Sam were taking refuge in. Sam sat with her legs resting on a separate chair, staring off in the distance.

"I just figured it out." She said without looking at him. Jason turned his head in question.

"What?"

"Why I sleep so much better at your apartment. Because you make me feel safe." She turned her ahead away and fell silent.

Jason stared at her for a moment, unable or unwilling to define what that meant to him. He closed his eyes against the guilt threatening to overtake him. He had handled everything wrong and now Sam had lost her baby and Sonny would never forgive him. He didn't answer her. He just faced the windows again and looked out into the night.

Sam didn't notice that Jason had stopped asking questions. She was lost in the story of their beginning.

"And so I stayed with you. And little by little we became friends. You saved me from someone from my past and you saved me when Carly found the skeletons in my closet." She rolled her eyes when she remembered how hard Carly had tried to prove how unworthy Sam was.

Jason decided to wait to tell her about his memory in favor of getting more details.

"Someone from your past?"

Sam nodded.

"An abusive ex-boyfriend who went to jail when I testified against him. He got out and was obsessed with me. He tried to kidnap me, he slapped me around, and threatened to kill my baby. You stopped him and saved me." She remembered how scared she'd been, and how desperate to hide the uglier side of her past. Nico had known things about her that she hadn't wanted anyone to ever know. Of course it all came out in the end.

Jason's blood boiled at the thought of someone hurting her.

"Good." He growled fiercely. Sam smiled and ate some more food.

"So what about those skeletons?"

"I was wanted for the murder of my mother." She said, almost choking on her wine when Jason's jaw dropped.

"I wasn't guilty." She hurried to assure him. "It's a long story, but basically I was protecting my older brother. He'd accidentally set the fire that killed my mother. He had special needs, and didn't even realize what happened. I couldn't see him be punished, so when they accused me, I just took Danny and ran."

Jason had about a million questions, but hearing their son's name made him stop and smile.

"So our son's named after your big brother?"

Sam nodded sadly, her eyes growing teary.

"My brother was the sweetest boy ever. He died in 2006 during an encephalitis outbreak in town. I had taken care of him for as long as I remembered and you helped me protect him when Carly exposed my secret. I think that's when I started to look at you differently. You were so kind and understanding. You protected me and believed in me when no one else did."

Jason reached out and grabbed her free hand. She was wiping away a stray tear with the other.

"I'm sorry to hear he passed away. But your mother? I thought Alexis was your mother."

She paused before letting out a teary laugh.

"Wow. Okay, that's a long story. We'll come back to that." She promised, before continuing with her earlier story.

"Anyway, I started to realize that I really did want my baby. And then I realized that I really wanted you to help me raise my little girl. Even though there was a lot of fighting with Sonny over who would be this little girl's father, I was convinced you were the best choice."

Sam paused and took a shaky breath. She had been okay up to this point. But even after all these years, remembering the loss of her daughter was overwhelming enough to leave her breathless with pain.

Jason could see the pain in her eyes and regretted making her relive it. He could guess now what happened.

"And then the choice was taken away from me. My daughter was stillborn." Sam stood up and walked a few feet away, tears sliding steadily down her face now.

"We named her Lila after your grandmother." She whispered.

"I can't explain to you the devastation I felt. After those first months of not wanting her, by the end of my pregnancy, I wanted her more than anything in the world. Losing her was like losing a piece of me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't sleep. I was lost."

Jason's arms wrapped around her from behind. Sam turned into his arms and laid her head against his chest, letting his warmth take away the cold that had seeped into her at the memory of losing her daughter.

"Sam, I am so sorry. I never should have made you relive that." Jason cursed himself for pushing her. He could see she was still grieving and always would.

Sam leaned back and looked at him. She smiled through teary eyes and caressed his cheek.

"It's okay. It's been a while since I went back there, so it hit me hard. I go to her grave every year on the anniversary of her death, or whenever I want to talk to her. I've never forgotten her." Her voice was fierce.

Jason pulled her back against him and rested his chin on top of her head.

"Of course not. She was a part of you. She'll always be a part of you." He assured her. They stood like that for a little while longer. They walked over to a bench and sat in silence, their food forgotten. Some time had passed when Sam started talking again.

She told him about their life together; the adventures, the drama, the pain. She left nothing out. When she explained how she was shot running into his arms, Jason paled. He stared at her in denial, not wanting to believe how close she had come to dying because of him. But when she told him that he had ended things with her when she woke up, he was flabbergasted.

"I broke up with you while you were in the hospital recovering from a near mortal wound you got just by standing next to me?" He asked in disbelief.

Sam nodded slowly, unsure if he was going to agree with his old decision or not. She was surprised by his next answer.

"Wow. What a dick move." He muttered. Sam burst out laughing. She laughed until she was bent over gasping for breath. When she finally straightened, she had to wipe away tears.

"Yeah, it really was." She agreed finally.

Jason watched her with an indulgent smile. He shook his head and reached out to lift her chin.

"Seriously though, I'm sorry I did that to you. I should have stayed by you."

Sam smiled.

"It was a long time ago. But it led to a horrible mistake on my part, and a blessing on yours. After the fact, at least." She added wryly.

Jason lifted a brow and waited for her to finish.

"I slept with someone I shouldn't have. I was devastated and hurt and angry because you kept pushing me away. I wanted to hurt you and I wanted to hurt myself. You saw us and ended up sleeping with Elizabeth. And she ended up pregnant with Jake. So even though it caused a lot of pain and suffering for us at the time, it was a blessing because you ended up with Jake."

Sam smiled at him, knowing that what she was saying was true. With the passing of time, she was able to look back now and see that things had happened the way they had for a reason.

Jason lifted his head back and stared up at the stars. He was thankful for Jake, obviously. But he regretted hurting her the way he had back then. He turned to look at her.

"How did we find our way back to each other?"

Sam smiled.

"Our love was too strong. We forgave each other and got back together."

Jason smiled at her.

"And we've been together ever since?"

Sam cringed, not looking forward to telling him the next chapter of their story.

"No. Elizabeth lied and told you that you weren't the father of her child, her husband was."

Jason sat up straight and stared at her.

"Wait. Elizabeth was married when we slept together?" He didn't know why that shocked him so much. He guessed he didn't like to think of himself as someone who would so casually participate in the breaking of vows. He wasn't so surprised to learn Liz had lied about the paternity.

Sam shrugged.

"To be fair, she had just found out Lucky was cheating on her and had become addicted to pain killers. She thought her marriage was over. But when he found out she was pregnant, he got the help he needed so he could be a good father."

Jason felt a little better knowing he hadn't destroyed a happy home, at least.

Sam took a deep breath and plowed on.

"When Liz finally admitted you were the father, you lied to me about it. But I knew the truth because I overheard her tell you. I don't know why I didn't just confront you, but I didn't. Instead, I let the anger, and hurt, and betrayal eat me up inside. And the jealousy, because I was jealous. She was giving you the child I could never give you. Well, at that point, anyway."

Jason watched her detail how he had once again hurt her. He was getting pretty disgusted with himself. Is that all he ever did?

Sam turned towards him with a serious face. He studied her in curiosity. Whatever she was about to say was clearly making her nervous.

"Jason, I'm going to tell you something that I am not proud of. In fact, it is something that I will always be ashamed of and is probably one of the biggest regrets of my life. Please know that I acted out of pain and hurt and I wasn't thinking clearly. That person is not who I am today. I have grown and matured and I'm a better person. Please try to remember that after I tell you what I did."

Jason sat up straight. He felt like he needed to brace himself for what was coming next after that brutal introduction.