After testifying about what exactly expired during her kidnapping this morning Sami was now being called to the stand for the second time today. She made it to the stand on wobbly legs. Seeing her own execution on video in front of the whole courtroom just seconds ago made her feel sick as the trauma of what had happened that day hit her full force.

D.A. Trask addressed her 'I'm sorry you had to see and hear that Mrs. Dimera but it is imperative that the jury see that this was not the first time Mr. Horton commited a crime and framed someone else for it' Sami gave a look, knowing full well that she was not sorry at all. 'So Mrs. Dimera' Trask went on, ignoring the look 'We all heard the tape of Mr. Horton admitting to killing Mr. Kelly and framing you. And we all saw the video of him running in during your execution saying he was the one that killed Mr. Kelly and not you. We also heard the sworn testimony of your husband EJ Dimera saying that Mr. Horton killed Mr. Kelly and framed you and that Mr. Horton has admitted this to you several times. Is this correct?'

Sami shifted in her chair uncomfortably and went on to speak, realizing that what she was about to say would ruin not only Lucas' and Kate's life but her kids as well. Damn EJ for telling the D.A. all this. 'Well Lucas didn't do the actual framing part but yes he shot Franco to protect his mother and let her frame me'.

D.A. Trask went on to ask the question that Lucas' lawyer Justin would ask if she did not 'Why did you decide not to get the police involved 23 years ago, Mrs. Dimera? You were almost executed for a murder while being innocent. If I understand correctly you were actually clinically dead for a few minutes'.

Sami answered her reluctantly but truthfully 'Lucas came from a rich and powerful family; his stepfather was Victor Kiriakis and both he and his mother would fight hard and dirty for him. I knew that if I pressed charges I would be held up in court for years. I was a broke and single 20 year old mother. With the agreement we made I got custody of my son immediately and that was most important to me'.

'Understandable' D.A. Trask said and went on. 'Are the testimonies that your husband Mr. Dimera and Mr. Brandon Walked gave about Mr. Horton and his mother Kate Roberts drugging you and manipulating you to jump off a cliff after a life size doll of your son William Horton correct as well?'

Sami swallowed and managed to get out a small 'Yes' she looked over at Will and Allie who had tears streaming down their faces. Upset that the parents who raised them could have been so cruel towards one another in the past. Lucas had tears in his eyes as well. She knew it would break him to have his kids think badly about him and she almost felt bad for him but then thought about all the horrible things he did to her this past year. Isolating her from her children and ruining her marriage.

'Why did you not decide to press charges on this matter, Mrs. Dimera?' D.A. Trask asked her.

Sami thought back to all those years ago, did she even think about pressing charges in Italy? All she was focused on was getting custody of Will. 'When I woke up in the hospital after Brandon saved me from the cliff, he told me what happened and that Lucas and Kate had already left the country. We left as soon as I was released and once we were back in the states I did not think I could press charges about something that happened in another country'.

D.A. Trask nodded and of course did not stop there. 'One last question, Mrs. Dimera'. She said while pointing to the TV where a police report appeared. 'Over at the TV as well as on your desk' she nodded to the jury 'you see a police report from 2002 written by police officer Brad Smith. In this police report he describes walking in on Mr. Horton slapping Mrs. Dimera across the face in her apartment after getting a disturbance call. Let me quote a small part: I saw Mr. Horton hit Miss Brady in the face with the palm of his hand rather forcefully. Officer Jensen pulled away from Miss Brady and handcuffed him. I tried to talk to Miss Brady and ask her what happened but she seemed in shock and barely able to stand on her legs. Can you explain what happened that day, Mrs. Dimera?'

Sami heard her parents and kids gasp from the courtroom. Sami had never told anyone except EJ about this and she and Lucas had never spoken about it again after that night. The last thing she wanted to do was think back to that horrible time but of course she had no choice. 'Back in 2002 when my paren-,' she stopped to correct herself 'when I thought my parents and grandmother had been killed, I was not doing so well...mentally I mean. That night I was completely hysterical and drunk and Lucas slapped me to get me out of it' Sami said and quickly went on before Trask could ask her another question 'and before you ask me Miss Trask; I did not press charges because I knew Lucas did it to help me and that was the one and only time he hit me ever'

'Thank you for your testimony, Mrs Dimera' D.A. Trask said offering her a fake smile before she addressed the jury 'The testimony of both Mr. and Mrs. Dimera proves without a doubt that Mr. Horton has a habit of committing crimes and hurting the victim. He did not kidnap Mrs. Dimera because he temporarily became insane as his lawyer is trying to make it seem. Mr. Horton was never held responsible for shooting and killing Franco Kelly but can still be held responsible for his latest crimes' She turned and faced the judge. 'No further questions for now your honor'

Sami saw that Lucas had turned around and was saying something to Allie and Will, who had decided to sit behind him in support with her blessing. Allie took off crying though and Will went after her. She saw her mom and John exchange a few words and John got up and went after the kids. Her mother stayed in her seat, probably not wanting to leave her. Johnny, who was sitting on the same bench as his grandmother, moved a little closer to her. They were both looking at her with a worried look on their faces. EJ was on the bench in front of them, right behind the D.A. and next to her father, but she could not stand to even look at him right now.

'Mrs Dimera!' The judge shouted and Sami jumped out of her thoughts and turned around to face him. 'I asked you if you are okay to proceed?'

He had probably asked her this question a few times judging by the tone of his voice and the worried looks her family gave her. She scraped her throat. 'Yes, I'm fine'. She lied. The truth was that she felt dizzy and her legs were shaking. When Lucas had locked her up after she wanted to get back to Salem upon hearing EJ was proven innocent of her kidnapping she had realized he was the one that kidnapped her the first time. She tried to get through to him for weeks but he was convinced he was saving her from EJ and that they would be happy together. Only once she had stopped eating, drinking and sleeping did Lucas realize that this was never going to happen. He took a flight back to Salem to turn himself in after talking to Will and Allie and called her parents to come get her before he got on the flight. She had kept up her habit of barely eating once they had freed her and taken her back to Salem. It felt like the only thing she had any control over so she had eaten just enough to keep her mother from worrying and was feeling the consequences right now.

'Go on then, Mr. Kiriakis' The judge said to Lucas' lawyer Justin.

'Mrs Dimera' Justin started 'You just testified to the several crimes committed against you by Mr. Horton but there were also a lot of happy times, right? I mean I myself witnessed the two of you being happily married and being a happy family'.

'Objection' D.A. Trask said before Sami could answer. 'Mr. Kiriakis is not here today to testify on Mr. Hortons behalf'

The judge nodded 'Rephrase your question Mr. Kiriakis'.

'Yes your honor. Mrs. Dimera please tell us about the happy times you experienced with Mr. Horton' Justin said. He was taking a risk because Sami had told him she was not sure she could testify on Lucas' behalf. She would rather have stayed out of the whole thing but this was impossible since she was subpoenaed by the D.A. 's office.

Sami saw Will and Allie come back into the courtroom and was sort of glad she could undo some of the damage done by the testimonies earlier for their sake. 'Lucas was the first friend I made when I came to Salem as a teenager after living with my grandparents in Colorado for a few years. We sort of bonded quickly because we both had a rough childhood and a broken family and there were not a lot of kids that understood us' Sami saw her mother and Kate exchange a look of guilt from opposite sides of the courtroom. 'we were sort of the same in wanting to have a better future for ourselves and helped each other out with that'.

'Can you give us an example of how you helped each other?' Justin asked, knowing full well what had happened in their past.

'I helped Lucas look for his birth father and he took me to my first prom and gave me advice on how to get the boy that I liked' Sami answered and Justin nodded for her to go on. 'Later one when I was…when I was raped by a guy that I was dating Lucas found out and he did everything he could to help me'

'How did Lucas help you exactly?' Justin asked.

'He was just there for me and stood up for me against Alan… my-my rapist' Sami could barely get the word from her lips, there was no word she hated more than rapist. 'My dad had left at that point and I barely had any contact with my mother but Lucas was with me every step of the way; when I went to press charges, when I had to testify in court and when Alan was found not guilty. Afterwards I was bullied in school and basically everywhere I went people called me a slut and whore but Lucas stood by me' Sami saw tears in the eyes of all 3 of her parents and even Kate seemed a little emotional. 'I really believed that I was never going to be happy or loved but Lucas convinced me that I was wrong. That was when I got pregnant with our son Will' Sami said and she gave Will a small smile.

'So how did things go from that to the things the D.A. 's office forced you to testify about earlier today?' Justin asked, getting in a little dig.

'In a nutshell; I lied to Lucas about being sure that he could not be Will's father when I was not a 100% sure at all. Lucas had been drinking a lot and when he found out he missed the first 2 years of his son's life he started drinking even more. I believed he was not fit to be a father to Will so I lied about him hitting Will to get custody. This all led up to what I testified about earlier today'. Sami said honestly. Her kids were already aware of her sins but it was still hard admitting it out loud. She did sometimes wonder why her sins were out there for the world to know but Lucas was always seen as the good guy.

'If Lucas had always been there for you, why lie about the fact that there was a chance he was Will's father?' Justin asked.

Sami took a deep breath before admitting something out loud that she never had before. 'After the shitty life I had and everything I went through I believed I was owed a happily ever after and stopped at nothing to make that happen. I thought that happily ever after was being a family with Will and Lucas' older brother Austin who thought he was Will's father the first 2 years of his life'

'Why Austin and not Lucas?' Justin asked, knowing the answer was not relevant to the case but might get Lucas some sympathy.

'Back then I thought I was in love with Austin and that he would be the perfect husband to me and father to Will. Well he actually was pretty perfect' Sami said and went on 'But because my mother is a psychiatrist and I'm her favorite subject' she said trying to make light of the situation and giving her mother a small smile that she returned 'I now know that I attached myself to Austin, who was 7 years older and always looking out for me, because he represented the stable home to me that I missed during my childhood. I mean Lucas took care of me as well in his own way, but he was anything but stable.' Sami finished looking at Lucas who did not seem to disagree with her statement.

'Alright so we know your relationship took a turn for the worse after this' Justin said. 'Can you tell us a little bit about when it got better again?' He asked.

'When Lucas and I were in our early/ mid twenties things started to shift a little bit; Will was old enough to start wanting his parents to be together and Lucas had definitely grown up, been sober for a few years and got his act together. I definitely had not grown up yet, I went from relationship to relationship and was making poor choices and mistakes from left to right' Sami looked at Will who actively remembered all of that and he nodded and gave her a weak smile. 'Things got really bad when I lost both my parents and grandmother in a matter of months. I was not dealing with things very well and tried to push everyone away and definitely succeeded. But Lucas would just take all the crap I spew at him and stay by my side. I honestly don't think I would be sitting here if it was not for him. We fell in love, were together on and off for years, got married and had our daughter Allie. Our marriage did not last obviously but we always stayed friends and co-parents' Sami said and she wished that could have been the end.

'What do you think happened this past year that resulted in Mr. Horton kidnapping you?' Justin asked. He knew the question was a risk but it was basically all or nothing right now.

'Lucas and I got close again after our daughter got hurt and I was heading towards a divorce with my current husband' Sami looked at EJ for the first time and he was staring at her intensely. 'We slept together a few times. I did it because I felt hurt and alone but I was not in love with him. Lucas was still in love with me though and he thought if he could just get me away from EJ that I would fall back in love with him'. Sami said.

'So Mr. Horton did not kidnap you with the intent to hurt you, you say?' Justin asked.

'I do not believe so, no. But he did end up really hurting me' Sami answered truthfully, looking Lucas in the eye. She flashed back to laying on the bed in the room that Lucas had locked her in. Lucas came in and gave her a few pictures of EJ and Belle kissing and it felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach. She had been fighting to get back to EJ but he had obviously already moved on. That was the day something changed inside her and she decided to just give up.

'Do you agree with District Attorney Trask that Mr. Horton should go to prison for the next 20 years?' Justin asked.

Sami looked at EJ and knew her answer was going to push them even further apart but she had to do right by her children. 'No, I believe Lucas should receive psychiatric treatment in a facility and I do not wish for my children and grandchildren to miss out on having their father and grandfather in their life'. She said as she watched EJ shake his head in disbelief.

'Thank you for your honest testimony, Mrs Dimera' Justin said. He turned towards the jury. 'There is no doubt that Mr. Horton kidnapped Mrs. Dimera and framed Mr. Dimera for it. He is the one who turned himself in because he knows what a huge mistake he made. There is however a question of Mr. Hortons state of mind during all this. As you have heard today Mr. Horton is not a bad person. He has tried his whole life to be a good father, husband and friend but was stringed along by Mrs. Dimera and lost his mind for a little while.' Justin said. 'No further questions for Mrs. Dimera, your honor'

'You are free to go Mrs. Dimera' The Judge said and Sami was so relieved that she stood up too quickly. The sickness and dizziness hit her full force. After grabbing onto the stand to steady herself she walked out of the courtroom as fast as her wobbly legs would take her. In a blurry haze she saw EJ, her parents and children standing up worriedly but she knew she had to get to the bathroom as quickly as possible. Once she made it there her legs gave out underneath her and she emptied her stomach. Once the heaving stopped she let herself fall back against the bathroom stall.