Wow, more reviews. Thanks :) Here's another chapter. Hope you like it ;)

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just like writing about them

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There You'll Be

Chapter Three

"Uh, Jason, Sonny's in the living room," Max held open the door for him, stepping aside so that he could enter. From the expression on his face, Jason figured this wasn't a good time, unfortunately, business couldn't wait and neither could this moment. After these several months today was the day. He had the meeting scheduled for later on tonight, all of paperwork in the folder underneath his arm and the sooner this was done, the better he would feel. "He has company," Max finished not even bothering to look him in the eye which could mean only one thing.

Sam.

The burst of giggles made something twist in his stomach, pulling him forward on stiff legs to bear witness to the scene unfolding. Sonny, Sam and Kristina sat on the floor playing tea party. If his heart hadn't been pounding in his chest, the sight would have been amusing. He figured this was Sam's doing, making Sonny sit on the floor holding the tiny plastic up in his large hand, pinky extended and pretending to sip a cuppa. Kristina and Sam were dressed identically in soft pink dresses, with large extravagant hats, white gloves and smiles.

Before he could leave them to it, Sonny glanced up with a look of extreme gratitude warring with pleasure at spending this time with his daughter. Sam followed Sonny's gaze, their eyes locking briefly before she quickly looked away. It wasn't the first time they had come in contact with each other, and in the beginning it had been easier for them. He had comforted her through the first stages of Alexis' illness, but realized his presence only caused more problems because he would find Sam looking at him with hope in her eyes. Hope he didn't know if he could give her. So he had carefully pulled away, hurting her once again, but it was better that way.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," he cleared his throat, and part of him wanted to walk away, but the biggest part wanted this over and done. Finished, so that perhaps his life could find some sense of normalcy. "It's business."

Sonny nodded, and then rubbed a hand over Kristina's head, placing a kiss on her temple, "Daddy will be right back okay?"

"Okay," Kristina smiled softly, "We should get more cookies and tea from the kitchen, Sam."

"Okay sweetie," Sam smiled in return, though he could read the relief in her eyes as well. "Let's go refill our tea pot," she rose carefully from her pillow on the floor, taking Kristina's hand and led her back to the kitchen. He watched her go with a lump in his throat, wondering not for the first time how he could have so carelessly destroyed what they shared.

"I'm sorry," he apologized but Sonny waved him off.

"I didn't know that Sam was bringing Kristina over today. Alexis was having a bad day, and she wanted Sam to spend some time with Kristina. Sam got the whole idea for tea parties and taking pictures so that Alexis could see."

Jason wished he could say that the matter could wait, but it would just be put off another day, then another. There weren't a great many things he wanted in life, and considering he had decimated his personal life, he could get this business in order. "I scheduled the meeting with the other families for tonight at ten," he slipped the folder from beneath his arm and set it on the desk facing Sonny. "All the accounts have been reversed to joint signatures." He inhaled deeply, feeling an unwanted weight slowly lifting from his shoulders.

A moment.

Life altering and all powerful.

His independence day.

"As of now, all territories, both here in the United States and Puerto Rico, are now under Corinthos control."

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"Where's Kristina?"

Sonny watched Sam glance around the room, probably looking to see if Jason had left or not. He was saddened that his best friend and Sam seemed to be unable to find their way back to each other. For once he could understand everyone's frustration with his inability to forgive. It was obvious they still loved each other, so what was keeping them apart.

"She went to the 'powder room'," a soft chuckle escaped as she sat down on the couch arranging the flounce of her skirt neatly around her legs. "Thanks for agreeing to this Sonny. I know it must feel a little ridiculous playing tea party."

"No," he chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets; "Kristina had fun, that's all that matters." He closed the file that Jason had left for him and joined her on the couch. "Are you going back to the hospital today?"

"After I get the pictures developed," she gestured to the digital camera on the table, "I'm sure these will make Alexis feel much better than she was this morning."

"Is it the chemo?"

Sam nodded, licking her lips carefully, "It just wipes her out, you know?" None of them was unaffected by Alexis' fight with lung cancer and despite all of their differences had found a way to get along so that she concentrate on beating the illness without having to worry about petty fights. "I don't know if I ever thanked you for trying to talk me into staying here in Port Charles."

"You don't have to do that," he shrugged uncomfortable with the gratitude, "I'm just glad that you and Alexis are getting along better these days."

"You mean now that I'm not fighting her over Jason," Sam shot back, then closed her eyes slowly, "Never mind that," she muttered, "Yes, we're getting along, all things considered."

"Is Ric giving you any problems?" Sonny wasn't delusional, once his brother started obsessing on something he never put it away until something tragic or unforgivable happened. Sleeping with Sam, his stepdaughter and cheating on Alexis was only one part of a very large iceberg that extended deep within the cold depths of Ric's psyche. "I can have another talk with him."

"No, its fine," she attempted to reassure him, "I can handle Ric and his smug remarks about how I'm kissing up to Alexis and could care less about her." Then she carefully began tugging off the neat white gloves, setting them on the table, "In the beginning he was right. I could care less about Alexis, I hated her for helping to break up me and Jason, now," she shrugged offhandedly, "Now it doesn't seem all that important."

"Are you sure?" sonny asked gently, knowing this was still very much a tender topic for her, "Because if you still love Jason, it's not too late."

"It's too late Sonny," she released a shaky breath, "Only now I'm realizing it. Maybe before Ric, before he slept with Liz, we could have made it. But now, now it's just over."

Sonny didn't bother to hide his expression of disbelief, "Jason slept with Liz?"

Sam blinked, then covered her mouth nervously, "He didn't tell you? I thought for certain he would have told you, he tells you everything."

"That's not exactly true anymore Sam," Sonny sat back on the couch, still reeling from what she had just revealed. "Since Emily, well we're back to being friends, but it's not like before." And that was a little sad, because he missed that part of their friendship where each of them could confide in the other and the trust that had been between them.

"You can't tell anyone," Sam pleaded, "I shouldn't have said anything, but I thought you knew. I mean, between you and Carly, he always tells the two of you everything."

If Jason had told Carly about sleeping with Elizabeth Spencer, Carly definitely would have spilled it to him by now. So as far as he knew, Carly was in the dark as well. As a matter of fact, Carly was still working under the assumption that Jason should get back together with Sam, but perhaps this was why Jason was so quiet lately. Maybe Jason didn't want to get back together with Sam as much as everyone believed he did. Oh, there was no doubt that Jason was hurting, or that he loved Sam. Judging from the way he had looked at Sam just a few minutes ago, it was a definite. Yet, Sonny also remembered how Jason was when he was hung up on Elizabeth.

A lot like Robin in many ways, yet a lot like Sam in others, Elizabeth had managed to tie Jason in knots on more than one occasion. Their relationship, friendship, or whatever their confused connection had turned from a romantic sense to simple friendship over the past years, but evidently it had recently taken a different turn.

"Jason keeps a lot of things bottled up inside him Sam," Sonny told her, "You know that."

"We used to talk about everything, but now," Sam shrugged, unable to hide her pain.

"I don't know if Jason ever told you about the night me and Carly slept together for the first time," he glanced up at the stairs to make sure that Kristina had yet to come back down.

"He told me some of it, how he went to a meeting but it was an ambush and he got shot," she bit her lip seeming uncomfortable, "When he came back to your old penthouse, he found out you and Carly had slept together."

"That's right," Sonny nodded, "I thought Jason would hate us, and for a few weeks afterwards, he refused to even speak to us. He started spending a lot of time with Elizabeth, she was the one who found him in the snow, bleeding. Got him a doctor. He might have died if she hadn't found him."

"I don't really want to talk about Liz, Sonny, or hear about how wonderful she's supposed to be."

"This isn't about Liz, it's about Jason. He forgave us Sam, but with Carly, a line had been crossed and no matter how hard she tried to get back on the other side, Jason wouldn't let her. Now I know he wasn't in love with her like he is with you, but it's the way he protects himself. He did it with Robin, with Carly, and with Courtney. He shuts that part of himself off, and he doesn't look back. I don't know if that comes from his accident, or if it's the way he learned how to deal with emotions that he can't control."

"Then what you're saying is that we'll never get back what we had."

"No, what I'm saying is that I've seen a lot of changes in Jason since the two of you got together. Maybe it's just going to take a little time for Jason to move past the old way he used to deal with his emotions and learn to face them."

"Time," Sam shrugged tiredly, "I've spent too much time on Jason already. First with him pushing me away because he wanted to protect me and now because he thinks I betrayed him with Ric." She sniffed and blinked back tears, quickly wiping away the one that slid down her cheek. "I don't have any more time to give Jason. I'm not the only one at fault here. He pushed me away. He slept with Liz. He isn't blameless in all of this."

"No, he isn't," he agreed, "But no one punishes Jason better than he punishes himself."

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Every time Jason came back to this house it made him uncomfortable. He felt caged. Felt an almost desperate need to escape, and though he couldn't understand the emotions, knew they were just slightly irrational, that didn't make them any less real.

When Grandmother was still alive, he would come to visit sometimes, though he was shamed to admit, those times were very few. The most vivid memory he had of her was sitting in the kitchen with her having tea and eating peppermint candy. He remembered when he had shared that memory with Sam and she had asked if she could name the baby she was carrying Lila. He knew his Grandmother would have been honored, though the other Quartermaines would have pissed a bitch and a half.

It hadn't mattered that Sam's baby wasn't his biologically, he had loved her and that was all that had mattered to him. That part of his life seemed almost like a dream, a wonderful, almost unreal dream that had come to a heartbreaking end. The life he shared with Sam, the memories they made, the ones they wanted to make together, it was all over and it was all his fault.

Jason pushed open the door of the den, and released a pained breath. Edward Quartermaine sat at a desk, files open before him, the phone to his ear, and a look of gruff anger on his face. Not that he had ever seen the man looking any differently.

When he glanced up, Jason could almost swear their was a brief glimpse of relief in his eyes, but then figured it was just a trick of light, because Edward growled at whoever he was talking to and slammed the phone back down on the base. "It's about time you got here."

He restrained the huff of breath, wiping his hand over his mouth, figuring the best way to get this over quickly was to allow the man to get out all the condescending remarks he had stockpiled which would eventually get to his point.

Jason could hardly believe Edward voluntarily sought him out. Yes a few months ago, he had arranged for Emily to have them meet at the MetroCourt, so he could demand that Jason kill Alcazar, but since then things on the Quartermaine end had been blessedly silent. Imagine his surprise when his cell ran while he was driving back from Sonny's and it was Edward demanding that he bring his worthless, thug self over to the mansion so that he could speak to him.

Out of respect for his Grandmother and Emily, he hadn't hung up on Edward. Figured, the old man would just call Emily and sic her on him.

"I had business," he answered by way of explanation.

"Business with that thug Sonny Corinthos who stole you away from this family," the man seemed to be winding up for a good long diatribe on Sonny and it was the last thing he wanted to deal with at the moment. He was still reeling over seeing Sam so unexpectedly. He would have to get over that, move on, because Port Charles wasn't a big city. He was bound to run into Sam from time to time and he didn't want to have to drag his heart off the floor and shove it back into his chest every time he saw her.

"What do you want?" The words came out a little gruffer than he intended but it evidently got through to the man because he went silent, but kept a sneer on his face. It almost made him smile in way. In his day, Jason didn't doubt that Edward Quartermaine was force to be reckoned with. Perhaps if things had been different, they might have found some way to co exist, as it was Edward wanted things his way, when he wanted them and how he wanted them. Jason found he had a decided ineptitude for listening and following directions that clashed with the elder Quartermaine's need for control.

After his accident, his frustration and the Quartermaines need for him to be someone he couldn't be had driven too large a chasm between them. Since his brain surgery this year, he had found a way to set aside the anger he seemed to feel around them. His relationship with Monica had been strengthened, he could mildly tolerate Alan. They would never be one big happy family, but then again this was the Quartermaines. Happy didn't really seem to be apart of their vocabulary.

"It's time you did your duty and came back to the family." Jason rolled his eyes and turned back to the direction of the door. If he hadn't heard that crap before, he almost cursed violently. He didn't have time to deal with SSDD. "No! You can't leave!"

That wasn't just attitude in the man's voice. That sounded like desperation. Jason glanced back over his shoulder, knowing he would regret this but asked, "What's wrong?"

Three hours and several conflicting emotions later, Jason exited the elevator of his apartment building, scrubbing a frustrated hand over his face. How he allowed himself to get mixed up in Quartermaine drama, he still couldn't figure out. One moment he was asking Edward what's wrong and the next...

Hell. Moments.

They were kicking his ass lately.

He should be celebrating his release. He no longer had to run the organization because that responsibility was firmly back in Sonny's hands where it belonged. He could go back to the way things were before. He wasn't blind, understood that nothing much really changed. Except he no longer had to make the major decisions. And the meetings that he could barely tolerate. The guards at his door. And those fucking suits he hated wearing. Now he was back to being Sonny's enforcer.

Except for this new business he had allowed himself to be dragged into.

Edward Quartermaine was still a crafty bastard no matter how old he was.

By the time he was digging his keys out of his pocket, all he wanted was a drink, some peace and quiet. The emptiness of the penthouse greeted him with a silent suffocating wave as the door swung open. Why had he thought it might be different. He was still alone, that hadn't changed. As he stepped inside, he heard something crunch beneath his boot and frowned as he glanced down. Figuring Bernie had left him something while he was out, he picked up the long white envelope and slid a finger beneath opening it.

As he slid the single sheet of white paper out, he blinked both in surprise, at the familiar handwriting, then stunned disbelief as he read the contents. He could almost hear her trembling voice inside his head.

One moment.

It had changed his life forever.

He read through the note again, this time noting the damp spots in certain places.

Her tears.

It shook something in his chest, because her tears meant she was in pain. And she always held strong against pain, through so many obstacles and tragic moments in her life, the only times he witnessed her tears was when she had been broken. Panicked, he glanced around, realizing he must have just missed her.

He came upon the line again that just as before completely stopped his heart.

His baby.

Jason,

I know this seems almost cruel to leave you this note, to tell you this way. If I was stronger, I would tell you in person, and truthfully, I had hoped you would be home. You're always the one person I could count on to be there for me, but I'm so confused right now.

Deep in my heart, I always knew that I would have to tell Lucky about the night we spent together. I knew that secret couldn't remain in our marriage without slowly tearing it apart. Yet, I never expected. I never thought. I should probably come right out and say this, because it isn't going to get any easier.

I'm pregnant Jason.

I went to the doctor yesterday and confirmed it. I'm about nine weeks along. Lucky and I hadn't been together for a while, so I know the baby isn't his. It's yours. I'm carrying your baby.

Lucky knows the truth, we had a horrible fight about it. Some ugly things were said, but needless to say, my marriage is over. If Lucky comes to see you, please don't hurt him Jason, he isn't thinking clearly. I wouldn't be surprised if he has started using again.

But I can't deal with Lucky right now. I have to think of Cameron and this new baby first.

My Grandparents have a cottage in upstate New York, where the family used to go for vacations. Grams suggested I take a trip up there, to make sure I'm doing the right thing in divorcing Lucky. She doesn't know about the baby yet, I just wasn't ready to share that news with her since I hadn't told you first. I'm taking Cameron up there for a while until I decide how I'm going to deal with everything. I didn't want to leave this way, but I really needed time to myself to think.

I know you weren't expecting this. Neither was I, but I'm not sorry. I didn't regret the night we spent together, and I don't regret this baby. I hope you'll come to feel the same way.

Anyway, take care Jason. I'll be back before the New Year and we can talk about the baby then if you want.

I'm sorry,

Elizabeth