So this idea has been circling around in my head for a while. I wasn't getting any piece from it so I started writing it down and now I've decided to share it with anybody who is a fan of JaSam. This starts up right after they get back from Mexico. Guza is taking way too long to get them fully back together so I am writing how it could have gone.

Please review, I really like hearing what people think. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own GH, I wish I did but I don't.

Sam walked into her apartment feeling like an entire year had gone by instead of the few weeks it actually had been. Everything looked the same and none of her plants had died, which meant Maxie had once again taken care of her place without being asked. She really was one of the best friends Sam had ever had. She tossed her duffle on the floor as she slowly made her way to the kitchen to grab a much needed beer.

If there was ever a day to drown her sorrows, today was the day. She'd delivered her little sister to their Mother and had to stand back and watch as her Alexis made an already bad situation worse; and then got the boot when she disagreed with her mom's way of handling things. Sam knew she wasn't Kristina's mom and she had no say in the day-to-day living in Alexis's house but even she knew that a teenager who lived with no consequences was a scary thing. It was the way she was brought up and Kristina deserved better.

After that she'd called Spinelli only to find out that Spinelli, in his excitement at running McCall and Jackal PI by himself, had taken on too much. So now she had to eat quickly before running out to do some surveillance on another one of Port Charles many cheating spouses. She wondered why people even bothered getting married; they all ended up cheating on one another.

Sam was pulling a healthy microwaveable meal from her freezer when she heard her front door open then close. For a second she braced herself for an attack of some sort and quietly stepped closer to her butcher block.

"It's just me!" Maxie called out from the living room.

"Kitchen!" Sam called back.

"Jason called Spinelli back to the pent house interrupting our romantic plans so I was at loose ends and decided to check in on my good friend and see how your adventure in Mexico went."

Sam could hear Maxie making her way to the kitchen and she tried to make sure she was looking away before Maxie could see her face turn red but knew she failed when Maxie gasped from the doorway and hurried over so she was standing right next to her.

"Sam you're blushing," she said curiously. "Now I doubt anything happened to Michael and Kristina that would cause your face to turn as red as a tomato; so I'm guessing Jason has something to do with it."

"Nothing happened in Mexico," Sam said stepping around her friend to slide her frozen dinner into the microwave. The one and only cooking electronic she could use without burning anything.

"I don't believe you," Maxie said simply. She followed Sam out of the kitchen watching as she picked up her duffle and headed towards her bedroom. "Sam, this is me you're talking too."

"I know Maxie," Sam said rolling her eyes. "But nothing happened."

"Oh no, something happened," Maxie said pointing a finger at Sam. "It's written all over your face."

"Fine Maxie," Same said dumping her duffle with more force than was necessary. "Mexico was…more intense than anyone could have predicted."

"Oooh, tell me more," Maxie said sitting down quickly.

"There's too much to go into and I have to work thanks to Spinelli," Sam said wanting to forget about her encounter with Jerry and then Jason almost dying. Not to mention what his delirium had caused her to confess and then their- no, Mexico was better locked away in on of her mental boxes where she put all the memories she didn't want to relive. "All I can say is we found Kristina and Michael before anything really bad could happen to them."

"Oh I'm sure you did," Maxie agreed nodding her head. "But I also know you well enough to know that something happened between you and Jason." She paused, waiting for Sam to say something, but continued when Sam just dumped her clothes in her hamper while averting her eyes. "Did you fight?"

"Maxie-"

"No, fighting with Jason wouldn't cause you to blush," Maxie went on like Sam hadn't said her name. "No, the only thing that would make you blush is if you had…" Maxie whipped her head around to face Sam who had her face buried in her hands. "You had sex with Jason, didn't you?"

Sam didn't bother to respond. She knew that any denials would only make Maxie push further. Sam could never really lie to Maxie anyway. Just like Maxie could never lie to Sam. They knew each other too well.

"You little hussy," Maxie said smiling. "Was it before or after you found Kristina and Michael?" Sam still refused to say a word. "Well, I guess I can go ask Jason."

"He isn't going to tell you anything," Sam said quickly wanting to stop Maxie from asking Jason anything.

"Oh so there is something to tell then," Maxie smirked.

Sam closed her eyes realizing she had walked into one of Maxie's conversational traps. She wished she regretted it but all she felt was a sense of relief that she didn't have to mentally work through Mexico on her own. Maxie wouldn't necessarily be her first choice, with her big mouth in all, but Sam didn't have many people she could go to for advice.

"Jason and I…connected in Mexico," Sam finally said sitting down beside Maxie.

"Is connected a different way of saying you had sex?"

"Yes," Sam said from gritted teeth. "But…I just…I think…"

"You think…" Maxie said helpfully. "Was the sex bad or something?" Maxie smiled again when Sam's face flushed bright red. "I'm guessing no then."

"Sex with Jason is-" Sam started to say but stopped. "It doesn't matter because it shouldn't have happened."

"Because," Maxie said confused.

"It complicates everything!" Sam said loudly jumping up from her bed so she could pace around her bedroom. "We were finally in a good place. We were working together and on our way to being friends and then we had to go and ruin it with sex." Sam threw her hands up in the air. "Before the sex we were talking and reconnecting."

"Sam, sit down," Maxie ordered watching her pace was making her dizzy.

"I am so stupid Maxie," Sam said plopping down. "I pulled away and told him we shouldn't do this."

"And."

"And he pulled me back in!"

"So it was more of a half-hearted protest then," Maxie said smiling but she lost the smile when Sam looked so dejected. "Sam, you had great sex with Jason. Why is that such a problem?"

"We tried the relationship thing before Maxie," Sam said softly. "I can't go back there."

"Jason wants a relationship," Maxie said honestly surprised.

"No!" Sam said jumping back up but Maxie grabbed her arm and pulled her back down before she could start her manic pacing again. "He was just as uncomfortable as I was."

"Well what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Sam admitted. "God I was so stupid. I had one of my closest friends back and I had to go and ruin it."

"It wasn't just you Sam," Maxie pointed out.

"You're right," Sam said after a moment. "I bet Jason is just as mad at himself as I am."

"Uh…Sam"

"Maybe if I just avoid him for awhile we can forget Mexico ever happened," Sam went on.

"Sam"

"We can just chalk it up to a high intense, highly emotional situation that clouded our judgment," Sam finished.

"You done?" Maxie said. When Sam nodded she shook her head. "I don't know if avoiding Jason is the answer." Sam looked like she was going to start pacing again so Maxie held up a hand to stop her. "But who am I to judge. I am marrying Spinelli even though I know we shouldn't."

"What!" Sam said shocked. "You said yes?"

"Well he kept asking and he wouldn't take no for an answer," Maxie said shrugging her shoulders. "I'm sure I'd marry him someday…it's just…"

"You're not ready," Sam finished the sentence for her. "You need to tell him this."

"I did but he has an argument for everything," Maxie said. She took a deep breath and shrugged her shoulders. "I love him. You're the one who needs help."

"I do not need help," Sam said quickly. "Jason and I are friends who help each other out once in awhile."

"You really helped each other out in Mexico."

"Maxie!" Sam exclaimed as her phone rang. She glared at her friend as she answered. "Hey Mom, everything okay?" Sam closed her eyes as she listened to her closely. "Viola can't take them?" Sam shook her head as she thought about her already full schedule she had planned for tomorrow. "No, its fine, I'll take them. Tell the girl's I'll see them tomorrow."

"Alexis needs a babysitter tomorrow," Maxie said after Sam hung up.

"The girl's want to go to the carnival and Alexis told them I'd take them when Viola said she couldn't," Sam said getting up. She headed towards the kitchen so she could throw away her microwaveable dinner. She'd grab something from Kelly's along with a large cup of strong coffee on the way to the office.

"Don't you have to work tomorrow? That was Spinelli's excuse for getting out of the carnival."

"Oh no no no," Sam said shaking her head. "Spinelli is taking tomorrow off. He's covered for me for two weeks. If I even see him at the office he's in trouble."

Maxie followed Sam back to the living room where she grabbed her keys off her table. "What are you going to do about Jason?" she finally asked as Sam opened her door.

Sam took a deep breath before answering. "Pretend it never happened."

"And when that doesn't work."

"It has too," Sam said honestly.

*******

Jason had just finished telling Spinelli about Mexico when someone knocked on the door. He turned to face the door hoping it was Sam. He'd called her earlier getting her voicemail and had asked her to stop by, they needed to talk. She'd been avoiding him, making sure Kristina or Michael was with them on the entire trip back from Mexico. Then leaving with Kristina as soon as the plane had touched down. It wasn't like Sam to avoid anything. She usually chose to deal with things straight on.

"Maximista," Spinelli said surprised. "I told you I'd call when I was done debriefing with Stonecold about his and Fair Samantha's adventure in Mexico."

"And what an adventure it was," Maxie said arching one eyebrow at Jason as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You talked to Sam," Jason said before she could say anything else. He knew Sam would never tell Maxie about Jerry so that only left one thing Sam would hare.

"I sure did," Maxie said setting her clutch purse down on the desk. "But don't worry Jason, she told me it was a high pressure, high intensity yadda yadda yadda situation."

"May I inquire what Sontecold and Maximista are talking about?" Spinelli said his eyes darting between his fiancé and his best friend.

"Oh, you haven't told him yet," Maxie said faking being surprised. She knew Jason would never tell Spinelli.

"Maxie," Jason warned.

"Well Spinelli," Maxie said ignoring him. "It seems things got a little intense down in Mexico and the only way Sam and Jason could cool off was with a little recreational…fun." Maxie smirked when Jason turned while covering his face with his hands. Sam and Jason both reacted in the same way.

Spinelli looked confused for a couple seconds before his eyes opened wide and he stared at Stonecold as a huge smile grew on his face. "Fair Samantha and Stonecold have reunited?"

Jason lowered his hands so he could glare at Maxie. He wanted to throttle her for getting Spinelli worked up because now he wouldn't get a moments peace. One of the things Spinelli loved most was talking about was Sam and him.

"Is it true Stonecold? Did you and Fair Samantha reunite underneath the blistering Mexico sun?"

"No Spinelli," Jason said shaking his head.

"Then what is Maximista talking about?" Spinelli asked confused turning to face his beloved again.

"I honestly don't know what Maxie is talking about," Jason said walking around them.

"Oh Jason, don't be like that," Maxie said shaking her head at him. "Sam didn't give details but I do know that something happened in Mexico. Something big enough that has caused her to-" Jason stopped at his desk and turned to face Maxie whose mouth was closed up tight for once. She looked at Spinelli and smiled hopefully. "It looks like your meeting with Jason is over; can we get back to our romantic plans?"

"Wait Maximista," Spinelli said taking a step toward Jason. "What happened between my two beloved best friends down in Mexico?"

"I told you what happened Spinelli," Jason said still eyeing Maxie who wouldn't look Jason in the eye. "What did Sam say Maxie?"

"Like I said earlier, it was just a high pressured, intensely emotional thing," Maxie rambled. "Nothing she can't handle. She's already dealing or not dealing depending on how you look at it."

"Maxie-" Jason started to say but she cut him off.

"Oh did Spinelli tell you our good news?"

"Oh Fair Maximista I didn't have a chance to get to that and maybe this isn't the ideal moment…" Spinelli trailed off when he saw the look on his beloved's face. She wasn't going to put it off.

"Nonsense, Jason would love to hear our good news," Maxie said needing the change of subject. If she told Jason how unsettled Sam was, Sam would never forgive her. It would be against every girl code written. "Spinelli asked me to marry him and I said yes."

Jason looked between the two of them taking in Spinelli's obvious excitement and Maxie's forced smile. Something was right here but he wasn't sure what. This wasn't his area of expertise so he said the only thing that he could say. "Congratulations."

"Thanks Jason," Maxie said taking a deep breath. "But now for the hard part. Spinelli wants you to be his best man."

"Maximista...please..." He said shooting an uncomfortable look towards Jason before stepping closer to Maxie to speak in a whisper. "I think it should be I who shares this wondrous piece of new to Stonecold...don't you?"

"Isn't there anybody else you could ask?" Jason asked honestly.

"Jason, you are Spinelli's best friend and he rarely asks anything of you but does whatever you ask," Maxie said just getting started.

"Fine, okay," Jason said wanting to stop Maxie before she began one of her long winded tirades.

"Stonecold agrees to be The Jackal's best man. To stand beside me up on that alter as I pledge my love and faithfulness to the Fair Maximista? Why…this only makes The Jackal more anxious for the nuptials to come so all can join us in this oh so joyous occasion. With Stonecold by my side will only make the moment that much more merry and memorable! Greatest thanks Stonecold! "Spinelli said staring at him in awe.

"You're welcome Spinelli," Jason said growing more uncomfortable by the moment.

Now-" Spinelli said, but his phone started ringing stopping him from saying anything else. "Tis the Fair Samantha won't be but just a moment." He saw both Maxie and Stonecold take a step closer when he said that, causing Spinelli to take a tentative step back in bewilderment.

"Fair Samantha it's a great pleasure to…-" but whatever Spinelli was going to say was cut off by Sam on the other end. "Yes PI Goddess the Jackal did as requested of him. I have emailed you all the hardy work that was done in your absence…just as you asked…Why of course the Jackal was very diligent and sure to have sent every case." He looked confused for a moment. "Does the Goddess wish for the Jackal to come to the office?"

Spinelli wanted to refuse, but he was never one to deny Sam anything. With a relieved sigh Spinelli nods his head, forgetting for a moment Sam couldn't see him over the phone. "Alright Fair Samantha, Maximista will be most delighted to hear that our evening of romance won't be thwarted." Hanging up the phone Spinelli's smile was contagious, obviously happy that the evening was going to go as planned after all.

"What did Sam want?" Jason asked.

"Fair Samantha wanted to know if I sent her the complete list of all the cases I took on while she and Stonecold were in Mexico," Spinelli explained. "She sounded a tad bit stressed and I wish she would-"

"She just has a lot going on right now," Maxie said interrupting him. She shot a look at Jason before grabbing Spinelli's hand. "Now Lulu is letting us have the apartment tonight so we should get back to our romantic plans."

"Goodnight Stonecold and once again thank you for standing beside The Jackal on the most important day of my life," Spinelli said as Maxie dragged him out of the pent house.

Jason stared at the closed door for a moment before shaking his head. Talking to Maxie and Spinelli always seemed to give him a headache. He needed to rest; his shoulder and leg were beginning to ache, the pain medicine having worn off earlier. But instead he found himself grabbing his keys off his desk as he walked out the door.

******

"Dammit!" Sam said loudly as the stack of files she had just finished stacking together toppled over. She'd only gotten to the office fifteen minutes before but had opened the door to find it completely ransacked. Somebody had had a field day emptying their filing cabinets and tossing their desks. Both their computer screens were smashed, like someone had taken a baseball bat to them. At least Spinelli had locked up both their laptops, so it only hurt a little. It was just going to be a nuisance to clean the mess up.

Sam stood up, walking over to the desk where her dinner and large cup of coffee sat. She eyed her dinner but gulped her coffee instead. According to Spinelli's notes she had less than an hour to be at her new case's place of employment so she could follow him and get the money shot, as Spinelli called it, of him and his mistress.

She wanted the office straightened up before she left. She knew Spinelli would be in early the next morning, regardless of Sam's order to stay away. He always checked in and if he knew about the break in, Maxie would never get him to the carnival the next day; and Sam knew Maxie didn't want to go alone.

She set the coffee down as she headed back over to the toppled stack of files. She wasn't going to bother sorting them today. She wanted to find the case she was working on tonight and then she was going to dump them back into the first filing cabinet drawer she reached.

Sam was just finished stacking the files once again when someone gently knocked on the door before turning the handle. She jumped up, knocking the files over once again, and grabbed her gun off her desk in one smooth move; turning and pointing it at…Jason. She lowered the gun and set it back down as he shut the door behind him, taking in the vandalized office in one glance.

"What the hell happened here?" Jason asked stepping towards her.

"I don't know," Sam said before turning to face the files on the floor. "I found this pleasant little surprise waiting for me when I got here. I'm just happy I found it and not Spinelli."

"Is that why you called?" Jason asked crouching down besides her helping stack the files again.

"I figure whoever did this must be from a case Spinelli worked or has given to me while I was gone," Sam explained.

"Do you think they were looking for something?" Jason asked nudging her aside so he could pick up the stack of files up for her. He winced as he set them down on Spinelli's bare desk, reaching up to rub his stinging shoulder with one hand.

"Why are you here? You should be home resting!" Sam said wanting to check on his shoulder for him.

"I'm fine Sam," Jason said rolling her eyes at her coddling. "Now answer the question."

"I don't know, "she said honestly looking around feeling a little overwhelmed. She was tired and wanted to just sit down and eat her dinner; then go home and climb into bed and sleep for days. But that wasn't happening. Spinelli had run the business for weeks, he deserved tonight and tomorrow off. She'd gone longer with less sleep. "Whoever did this tossed the place well enough. I couldn't even begin to guess what they were searching for exactly."

"Spinelli should be here," Jason said making a move to get his cell phone.

"Hold it," Sam said holding up a hand. "Spinelli has been amazing, running this office while I was gone. I am giving him tonight off and we are not disturbing him and Maxie."

"He could tell you who would be angry enough to do this," Jason said pointedly.

"Yes he could and he still can tell me tomorrow or even the next day," Sam explained picking up her coffee cup, forgetting she had emptied it moments ago. She grimaced as she tossed it in the general direction of the garbage can, not really caring if it made it in or not. It would just be one more thing to pick up.

"Why are you here?" Jason finally asked after watching Sam rub her eyes as if to wake herself up.

"I have a case tonight," Sam said walking over to the stack of files. She started going through the paperwork praying her guy would be near the top of the stack. "Surprise, surprise another cheating spouse in Port Charles."

"Sam, you just got back from a trip from hell," Jason said watching her cover a yawn with her free hand. "You've been awake for the past seventy-two hours. Don't you think jumping right into another case isn't the best choice?"

"Probably not," she agreed. "But if I don't do it, Spinelli will feel he has too."

"Let him," Jason said crossing his arms over his chest. "Or put it off until tomorrow."

"This man's wife has already been waiting over a week to find out if her husband is cheating on her. Spinelli has already tried to have two steak outs on this guy and he hasn't gotten a single picture."

"Maybe the guy isn't cheating," Jason commented.

"Or maybe Spinelli is too distracted by wedding plans," Sam said before turning to face him. "Did Spinelli tell you? I hope I didn't ruin it for him. You have to pretend you don't know Jason."

"Relax," Jason said smiling. "Spinelli and Maxie were telling me right before you called."

"Oh…good," Sam said taking some calming breaths but she froze when she saw the look on his face. Then it registered what exactly he had said. "So you talked to Maxie tonight." When he nodded she chewed on her bottom lip, wondering if Maxie had given him a hard time. If she was interpreting the look on his face correctly it would seem Maxie had said or done something to annoy him. She could only hope that it had nothing to do with Sam. "I saw her too…earlier."

"I know," Jason said simply.

Sam closed her eyes and knew Maxie hadn't kept her mouth shut. Not that Sam had honestly expected her too. Maxie was known for many things but keeping quiet when she had a juicy piece of gossip was not one of them. Now she just had to wonder what exactly Maxie had said.

"She didn't happen to mention…" Sam started to say but stopped. If Maxie hadn't said anything and Sam brought it up; it would go against her plan of avoiding everything that had happened in Mexico. It was better to just stay silent.

"That you told her about Mexico," Jason finished for her when it looked like Sam would never finish her sentence.

"I didn't tell her-"

"Everything but you told her enough," Jason said honestly surprised Sam had confided to Maxie. "You won't talk about it with me but you'll talk about it to Maxie."

"She guessed!" Sam cried out, "and you never want to talk. We both agreed that we didn't want to hash it out. Plus it just happened and we haven't exactly been alone to talk about it?"

"We're alone now," Jason said making a point to look around the empty office.

Sam closed her eyes as she nibbled on her bottom lip. She only did it when she was nervous and uncomfortable…which she was. She didn't want to talk about it. Talking about Mexico would only lead to a deeper conversation about the past and she never wanted to discuss the past.

"I have to work tonight," she said finally opening her eyes, rejoining the conversation.

"We have to talk about it Sam," Jason said still surprised that he was the one pointing out the obvious. They couldn't just ignore everything that had happened…and he didn't want to.

"I don't see why," Sam said shaking her head. "Now I have to go. At least Spinelli is smart enough to lock up the camera."

"Why don't you put this off 'til tomorrow?" Jason asked watching as Sam gathered up her stuff.

"Because Spinelli did a good job on picking up his habits," Sam said. "According to his wife he claims he's working late but Spinelli shot that down on his first steak out." Sam took a moment making sure she had everything before grabbing her container of food. Maybe she would have time to eat it in the car. "Plus I have to take Kristina and Molly to the carnival tomorrow."

"Have to?" Jason asked confused.

"Alexis promised them I would," Sam said shaking her head. "I think she forgets that I have a job. I think she hopes I'm just playing at this PI thing and that I'll get bored and quit."

"Alexis never did get to know the real you," Jason said softly.

"Not many people do." Sam turned away from him before he could see the pathetic look on her face. It really didn't bother her that people routinely thought the worst of her. She was used to it.

"Can I help?"

Sam turned her hand still on the doorknob. "Jason, you haven't slept for just as long as I have. There is no reason for both of us to go sleep deprived. Besides you're recovering from two gun shot wounds." She stepped out the door and gave him a small half-smile. "Go home and get some sleep."

Jason finally nodded, knowing she wouldn't change her mind. He was tired, probably not as tired as her. He had gotten some sleep while recovering in that room. But as he followed her down the hall to the stairs, he knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight.

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