Later that night at the hospital, Jason arrived to accompany Sam in her exam room. Jackson waited in the lobby by the nurses station. The elevator doors dinged and out walked the rest of the Davis girls. Kristina led the trio to the nurses station, asking for information on their loved one.
"Kristina." Jackson approached them as they turned to face him. "Jason's with Sam while she's getting checked out." He informed the family.
"Jackson." Kristina said shocked, she wasn't sure what he was doing there. "What are you doing here?" All she and her family knew was that Sam was hurt and Shiloh was dead.
"I brought Sam here. We went to help Dev on the Haunted Star only to find that Shiloh had him and Wiley hostage." Jackson informed his ex-girlfriend and her family. "I saw Dev leave with Wiley and caught up to them, which led to finding Shiloh holding Sam hostage."
"What about Shiloh? Did he really die?" Alexis asked him, wondering if that man was still alive and well.
"He's dead." Jackson confirmed, the news all causing them to release a sigh of relief. "Sam shot him with a flare gun and he fell overboard." Jackson could see the look on Kristina's face as she processed the news.
"Thank you for saving my daughter." Alexis told him. Despite his tanked relationship with one of her daughter's, she was glad he was there for her oldest. Alexis and Molly went into the exam room to see Sam while Kristina stayed in the waiting area.
"Are you okay?" Jackson asked Kristina carefully.
"It's a lot to process, that's for sure." Kristina replied as she stopped pacing. "Are you okay?" She turned to him and asked, "What exactly happened?"
"When I finally caught up to them, Shiloh and Sam were in a struggle. He threw her on the ground and was on top of her... I shot him in the chest." Jackson explained, "I checked on Sam and helped her arm get bandaged up. Shiloh had a bulletproof vest on from the uniform he stole. He attacked me out on the dock and Sam... she saved my life."
"I'm glad she did- that you both saved each other." Kristina told him meeting his gaze.
"Shiloh won't be a problem for anyone anymore." Jackson assured her before walking by her. She reached out, grabbing his wrist as he walked by, stopping him.
"Jackson." She uttered his name realizing it was too late to back out. "Thank you." Is all she managed to say. He met her eye one more time before nodding. She watched him walk away to the elevator. She almost hated to admit that she was starting to soften around him again. Part of her wants to stay guarded and the other wants to forgive.
Jackson walked through the halls, finding an empty bench with no one around. He sat down, letting out an exhausted sigh. He took in a few deep breathes, taking in what he just endured.
"Jackson?" He looked up to see who called out his name.
"Elizabeth." Jackson stated. "You're still here." He said, remembering that just a few hours ago, he was here with Cameron.
"And you're back." She responded, seeing that he was tired and rundown. "Is everything okay?"
"I just helped stop a cult leading psychopath tonight. So, you could say I'm a little exhausted." Jackson told her with an laugh as he thought about how crazy that sentence sounded.
"Shiloh?" Elizabeth clarified, "He was just brought in a body bag. Willow Tait just identified him." Elizabeth informed him.
"Good." Jackson nodded. "He was going to kill Sam if I hadn't gotten there in time. I shot him but I made the mistake of forgetting to check his pulse. His bulletproof vest saved him and he attacked me on the balcony of the Haunted Star. Sam shot him in the back with a flare gun saving my life." Jackson filled her in on the details.
"You're a hero, Jackson. This guy has hurt a lot of people and you helped stop him for good." Elizabeth spoke, her voice sweet and comforting.
"Don't call me a hero. I'm far from it." Jackson shook his head, he hated hearing someone praise him. After all the wrongs he's done to people, he felt like he deserved to be just as dead as Shiloh.
"Let's see, you've been a great mentor to my son. You helped stop a cult leader from kidnapping and you saved your best friend. Sounds pretty heroic to me." Elizabeth told him with a smile, nudging his arm to lighten up. He let out a small chuckle as she tried to lighten his mood. "There's a smile." Elizabeth pointed at his grin that he tried to hide. "I have to get going." The nurse announced as she glanced at the time on her watch. "But a smile looks good on you. You should wear it more." She told him, holding his gaze before she turned around to resume work.
The next day at the police station, Jackson and Sam were in the interrogation room with their lawyer, Diane. They were there to give their official statements about the night before.
"Once I caught back up to the Haunted Star, I found Sam on the ground bleeding from her arm. Shiloh made a move." Jackson was giving the police commissioner, Jordan Ashford, his statement.
"What kind of move?" Jordan asked him to clarify.
"A dance move." Diane told her sarcastically, annoyed that the police commissioner was trying to look for something that was not there. "What do you mean 'what kind of move?' He was obviously threatening my client." Diane clarified for the woman.
"No, he was going to hurt her." Jackson further clarified to the police commissioner. "So, I shot him in the chest. He went down. I go straight past him to check on Sam."
"Did you check Shiloh's pulse?" Jordan questioned him.
"No." Jackson told her, squinting his eyes.
"Commissioner, Mr. Thomas has just admitted shooting Shiloh in defense of Sam. Is that not true?" She asked, glancing at her client.
"That's correct." Jackson agreed with his lawyer.
"Naturally, he is going to go to Sam first." Diane pointed out.
"Because he's an expert shot and he assumed that his target was dead. Which begs the question as to why your client didn't shoot to womb. He could've just as easily aimed for Shiloh's leg." The commissioner went on to badger the man.
"Commissioner, are you taking a statement or cross examining a witness?" Diane asked, "Regardless it doesn't matter. Jackson Thomas has admitted to acting in defense of a helpless victim. And that is an acceptable use of force, it's not a crime. It's not even a misdemeanor."
"Okay, Mr. Thomas, after you shot Shiloh and went to check on Sam. What happened next?" The police commissioner questioned.
"Sam's arm was bleeding from Shiloh attack. I found a first aid kit and bandage her arm up then we went on deck. Sam's an experienced pilot so she headed to the bridge so she could turn the boat around and come back to Port Charles. I stayed on deck and that's when Shiloh attacked me." Jackson stated.
"With what?" Jordan asked, squinting her eyes at the man.
"A gaffing stick. I fought back and we struggled." Jackson told the commissioner who wouldn't drop her suspicion.
"Must have been quite a struggle. According to the coroner's report, Shiloh had extensive bruising." Jordan commented.
"He was attacked with a gaffing stick." Diane told the commissioner as if she missed that part. "He was well within his rights to defend himself."
"Alright, Mr. Thomas, so you were defending yourself." Jordan nodded, "What happened next?"
"Shiloh managed to trip me. And I was defenseless. I had no time to pull my weapon. And that's when Sam," Jackson stated, glancing at his friend, "shot Shiloh with the flare gun. She saved my life."
Now Sam sat down to piggyback off Jackson's statement and tell what happened next from her point of view. "I saw Shiloh standing over Jackson with a gaffing stick. I didn't have any time to react so I shot him in the back with a flare gun. He then fell overboard."
"No chance he was pushed?" Jordan asked the woman.
"No, not a chance." Sam responded.
"And there you have it. Both of my clients have given a full accounting of their actions and I think we can all agree this is a clear-cut-case of self defense." Diane told the commissioner, trying to get on with the paperwork.
"I agree." Jordan confirmed as she moved forward to get everything put into the system.