(Six Months Later)
"This is such a horrid idea. A very, very horrid idea," Sam fidgeted nervously outside the penthouse door. Lucky wrapped his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. He sighed as she bit her bottom lip in contemplation. "Can't I wait downstairs while you pick him up and they'll just stay in the dark? Ignorance can be bliss,"
"Sam, they both deserve to know and we can't hide out forever. What kind of life would that leave us with?" Lucky laced his fingers through hers and pressed a gentle kiss to her neck. She seemed comforted by the gesture so he lifted one of their linked hands to knock on the door. It swung open a second later and they watched Elizabeth's smile fall away. Sam pulled away and moved behind Lucky as he forced a friendly grin. "Elizabeth, hi,"
"Hello," Elizabeth nodded to them, turned on her heel, and headed back into the penthouse. Jason, who had been playing with Cam on the floor, got to his feet with a narrow, icy glare in place. The little curly haired boy clapped his hands together in delight at the sight of his father. He was oblivious to the tension that suddenly filled the room around him. Liz glared at Sam, who remained hidden behind Lucky. "I could've dropped him off at Kelly's like every other week,"
"Oh, but we were in the neighborhood. Actually, we live in the neighborhood now," Lucky informed them nonchalantly. He moved to pick up Cam, revealing Sam to Jason's roaming eyes. She made a noise of distress to catch Lucky's attention as he lifted his son into his arms. "Sam and I have moved into the penthouse across the hall, compliments of Sonny. And, as you can tell, we're expecting a baby in a few months,"
"Across the hall? You, Sam, and your baby will be living less than thirty feet from us?" Elizabeth pressed her palm to her temple, squeezing her eyes shut. Jason's face showed no emotion or any hint as to what he was thinking. Lucky shifted his grip on Cameron and wrapped an arm around Sam's waist, making Jason's eyes flash with barely restrained fury. Elizabeth's hands began to shake as things blurred around her. "Are you insane? It's bad enough that you obviously got her pregnant before our divorce was even finalized, but to throw it in our faces by living across the hall? How can you two be so cruel?"
"You left me and took our son. You moved in with Jason Morgan. Don't talk to me about crazy or cruel," Lucky warned in a low, menacing tone. Cameron fussed until he found himself in Sam's comforting embrace. Jason's body grew rigid at the sight of Sam pregnant, and holding, another man's child. Liz bit her tongue and remained silent. "I'm not going to fight with you, but don't attack, threaten, or upset Sam. We are moving in across the hall and we are having this baby. I'll drop Cam off on Monday morning,"
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"This is much better, but not quite what I had originally hoped," The brunette muttered as she and her partner watched the scene at the penthouse unfold. The blonde snorted, clearly bored and displeased. Strands of her golden hair fell into her eyes and she brushed them away with minor annoyance. The older woman twirled a strand of her chestnut hair around her index finger as she shot the flake she'd chosen to align her self with a nasty, narrowed glare.
"Morgan and McCall are interfering way too much. Lucky won't abandon his own baby and Jason won't walk away from Elizabeth when she has no where else to go," The blonde popped a piece of gum into her mouth and chewed on it loudly. The brunette shot her a dirty look out of irritation. "You told me not to distract Lucky that night at the bar and now he got that woman pregnant. How do you expect our plan to work now?"
"Would you please shut up?" The older woman snapped as they watched Lucky wrap an arm around Sam's waist. The blonde crossed her own arms over her chest and sunk back into her chair as she pouted. "Jason loves Sam. He always fails to deny it. And everyone knows that Lucky and Elizabeth are fated to be together,"
The blonde cracked her gum again as Sam, Lucky, and Cameron left the penthouse. "I think you're the one who needs to shut the hell up,"
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Jason clenched his fits and stared at the gun shot mark on his window, the painful reminder of what he'd had and what he'd walked away from. The image of Sam, pregnant and in Lucky's arms, made his stomach churn. The violent nausea that the memory brought knocked the air from his lungs. Elizabeth had hurried off to work some shift at the hospital, mainly as a way to shut off her mind. He, on the other hand, had no all-consuming work that he could throw himself into. He could only sit and know that Sam and Lucky were right across the hall, planning their future and the birth of their baby. Somehow, he dragged himself out of the penthouse and made his way over to Sonny's without crashing his motorcycle. He found Sonny and Carly on the couch reading to the boys and laughing over a plate of fruit. His chest tightened and his eyes burned. In a few months that would be Sam, Lucky, Cam, and the new baby. Carly excused herself and took the boys upstairs as soon as she noticed his arrival. Sonny eyed him wearily, but made no move to get up. Jason cleared his throat, trying to banish the emotions. "How long have you known?"
"Good God, Jase. Why does it matter anymore? You left her and nearly begged her to fall in love with a good, law abiding citizen like Detective Lucky," Sonny closed the book he had been reading to his sons. He had known that Jason would be livid and out for blood when everything came out into the open. Sonny was actually surprised that he hadn't shown up earlier. Sam had called to give them the heads up. Carly had gritted her teeth and fought the powerful instinct to go soothe Jason's bleeding heart.
"I have never lied by telling anyone that I don't love Sam. My life wasn't safe. She deserved more than I could give her," Jason sunk into one of the chairs, burying his head in his hands. He scrubbed his palms over his face and exhaled a loud, painful breath. He mulled over Sonny's words and froze, eyeing his friend with a hurt, questioning look. "Sam's in love with that yuppie?"
"I don't know, Jason. She showed up here about five months ago looking for Carly. She'd been living with Lucky for about a month, I guess, and was pregnant. She was scared, hurt, and confused. Lucky treats her fantastically and the both really want this baby," Sonny tapped the fingers of his left hand against the arms of the sofa. He carefully chose his words, knowing how easy it would be to send Jason into a downward spiral. "They needed a bigger place to live so Carly gave them the old penthouse. She's gotten pretty close to Sam and Lucky in the last few months. It's amazing. But we both knew that it wasn't out place to tell you,"
"I had a right to know," Jason argued quietly as he took in everything that Sonny had said. Carly had known for months and said nothing. He knew that took a real sense of loyalty towards Sam on Carly's part. Sam was pregnant and they had all known, except for him and Liz. "I never thought that--... Why did you think that it would be a good idea to move them in across the hall from me?"
"Did you ever consider that our decision had nothing to do with how much you or Liz liked the idea? Sam and Lucky have been living in a shoebox apartment, with Cameron there part of the time too. There's no way that they could fit another kid into that sardine can. Carly and I wanted to help. Sam needed somewhere that's at least a little familiar and no one has even touched that place in over a year," Sonny sighed, scratching the side of his face thoughtfully. Jason had always known that Sam and Sonny were good friends since their fling, but the amount of respect and admiration was beyond comprehension.
"I don't give a damn if Ms. Muffin agrees with me or not... And I know that it won't be easy for you to watch Sam have a happy little family with another guy, but get the hell over it, okay?" Carly made her way down the stairs with slow, measured steps. Her eyes were lit with fire and determination. Her blonde hair fell away from her eyes with the flick of her pale, delicate wrist. She put her hands on her hips as she came to stand next to his chair. "I used to hate Sam and everyone knows that. I really didn't care, one way or another, about my rent-a-cop cousin, but you haven't seen the hell they've gone through. They're in a good place now and I have every intention of keeping them there,"
"God damn it, Carly! What is wrong with you? I get that you hate Elizabeth, but did you ever stop to think about how much it would kill me to watch Sam be pregnant with another man's baby?" Jason pinched the bridge of his nose as he fought to calm the war within him. Carly's hands fell limply to her sides and he watched the fight ebb out of her. He leaned forward and cradled his head in his hands. "I shouldn't have snapped at you,"
"You're right. You shouldn't have, especially with the boys' right upstairs. And I'm sorry that you're hurting, but I did what I did for Sam. I won't apologize," Carly sighed, sitting on the arm of the couch. Sonny lifted a hand to her jean-clad thigh, offering his comfort and support. She flashed him a brief, grateful smile. "Sam and Lucky are already moved into the penthouse. They're comfortable and safe. Just leave her alone and do your thing. No trips down memory lane or stonewall avoidance tactics. Just go your way and let her go hers,"
"You act like it's easy," Jason muttered, knowing that Carly knew how hard it was to silently stand off to the side. She touched his cheek gently and smiled sadly.
"It isn't," She agreed slowly, meeting her husbands mocha colored eyes and remembering the hell they both endured during their divorce. "But you have to do it. For her sake and for yours,"
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Sam couldn't help but smile as Lucky's arms wrapped around her waist so that his hands rested on her expanding stomach as they watched Cameron sleep. Carly had redecorated the penthouse before allowing them to move in. Interior design was obviously one of Carly's favorite hobbies. Cam's room was done in a boat and ocean motif. The nursery, Morgan's old room, had been left neutral until they knew if they'd be going with pink or blue. Their bedroom was full of soft, rich shades of mahogany. Everything was rearranged and brand new, making it opposite of what it was when Sonny had lived there. "Feels like home, doesn't it? It's all ours and no one can take that away from us. We're finally safe,"
"How long has it been since you've felt like this?" Lucky asked, leading Sam out of the doorway and down the stairs to the living room where roaring flames in the fireplace awaited them. Lucky lowered himself onto the plush couch, pulling Sam down onto his lap. He sat the baby monitor onto one of the small end tables. Sam snuggled closer to his warm body, a content smile on her face.
"I've only felt completely safe three times since I was shot. First, was when I stayed at Jason's the night Justice was murdered and the second was one night on the terrace at the MetroCourt with Jason for the briefest of seconds. But the third was when I woke up in your bed the morning after we slept together," Sam ticked the memories off her delicate fingers. Lucky listened intently, feeling no jealousy that Jason made her feel safe. They both knew that their previous loves were true and all consuming, but they had agreed to give their relationship a real chance. He planned to honor that and he knew that she did too. "You know, it's so weird to say 'I was shot'. I feel like it all happened to someone else,"
"That's normal for such a traumatizing experience. You ran into your lover's arms and were hit with a bullet. Of course it feels surreal," Lucky murmured, tightening his hold on her without any real thought. It was sick to think that their baby wouldn't have been conceived if she hadn't been shot or if he hadn't been on the painkillers. The worst moments in their lives had given them the greatest gifts. "It's still hard to see Jason playing with my son and to know that he's there for the day to day stuff. But then I think of how hard it must be for Jason now that he knows you're pregnant with my baby and not his. You told me that you guys had wanted a baby pretty badly so it can't be easy for him to see that dream coming true for you with someone else,"
"I was so angry with him and Elizabeth that I didn't care how much it would hurt at first. I didn't want them to know because I didn't think that they deserved to share in this kind of glory. But then I got scared. I decided to hide it because I knew it would devastate them both and I don't want to hurt Jason anymore. I can't feel too guilty though because I want this baby more than anything," Sam rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes closing as everything grew quiet. The flames crackled occasionally, the warmth of the fire warming her cheeks. Lucky turned his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead, making her smile softly. "I'm finally completely happy,"