C L E A N S L A T E Ch3

Jason turned the light on in the bathroom. He splashed his face with water. Then he stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was spent. Even after a night of lovemaking, this was unusual. He cracked the door open and checked on Sam. The opening in the doorway allowed a sliver of light from the bathroom fall across the darkened bedroom, creating enough light to illuminate Sam, who was asleep on their bed. Her naked body was barely covered under the sheets. The bedroom was still warm. Looking at her exquisite body - Jason wondered how he found himself with such a sexy, beautiful woman; a woman who loved him with every fiber of her being. It was almost too much. It was dangerous. He looked at her and he felt one thing - what he always felt when she showed how much she loved him - guilt.
His hands began to tremble slightly. This was fast becoming way too familiar. He flipped over the top cover of the toilet tank. There it was, taped on the underside of the cover, the prescription from Dr. Hopper. No one knew of the extra medication he'd been taking. No one needed to know, certainly not Sam. Not after everything she had been through. Sam had done nothing but stand by his side this past tumultuous year. She patched him up. She risked her life and freedom for him and if Durant gets his way, she was facing time in prison - a long time. Sam protected Jason and now it was his turn to return the favor. He was only the love of her life.
Jason swallowed several pills. Dr. Hopper instructed him to take a couple at a time, but the time between Jason's these occasional headaches and the worsening tremble in his hands were getting shorter and shorter. He wondered how long before Sam found out about this secret he had been keeping from her. Weeks had gone by and she didn't suspect a thing. At least she never let on that she knew.

He went back to bed. He put his arms around her and pulled himself closer to her. He may not love her the way the old Jason had, but he loved things about her. Maybe it was enough. She was physically perfect. He loved that mountain of hair that she could never seem to keep away from her face. They got along. There was something about her. He didn't think playing along would be difficult and he saw himself falling for her eventually. Eventually.

It wasn't difficult until this morning. They were talking about their future plans. It looked like the only viable option was to leave Port Charles and never be seen from again.

"Do you know what you're saying?" Sam was surprised that Jason even suggested it. But Jason was full of surprises after his health problems. Sometimes she felt like she barely knew him. He sure acted that way towards her. Even after he regained the love that he had for her, Sam was never quite convinced that he really did. But he was trying. He wasn't running away from her like he had at first. She told herself that the love was there, he just had trouble recognizing it.

Sam was in danger of going to prison. He reasurred her that he was never going to let that happen, "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you're safe, Sam. You know why he's doing this."

Durant had it in for anyone in Sonny Corinthos' circle but especially Sam and Sonny. Even after Jason and Sam cut all ties with Sonny, Durant was not going to let them go so easily. Carly was dead. Durant was not going to give up.

"It wasn't our fault, Sam. You did nothing wrong."

"But we were there, Jason. You would do exactly what Durant is doing if I was killed, you know that Jason?"

"Of course I would," Jason said. He made a fist and headed for the bathroom.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked.

"Bathroom. Is there something wrong?"

"Just...," Sam looked down.

"Everything is fine, Sam." Jason said and left the room.

Jason let the water run in the sink as he sat on the toilet - waiting for the pills to take affect.

In the kitchen, Sam stared at the bowl of cereal she had been eating. The flakes had gotten soggy. She dumped it in the sink and washed her bowl. She went up to the bathroom door. She heard the water running. She turned the doorknob and found it locked, just as she expected. The old Jason never locked the door.

"We need to talk." Sam said so softly that Jason could barely make it out through the noise of the running water.

"I'll be out in a second." Jason got up and turned the faucet off.

But Sam didn't wait.

"Jason do you love me?" The tone of her voice had changed. She had steeled herself for this. Jason reached for the doorknob and tried to find the right answer.

"I love you Sam." He opened the door. "You know that," Jason finished. He put his hands in his pockets. The pills had not taken effect.

"Jason..." Sam reached for his hands. But he kept them in his pockets. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm pregnant."