6

Sam always knew that she was strong. She had to be. Growing up as the daughter of a grifter and con artist had set her up to handle the toughest situations in life. But nothing had prepared her for the death of her husband. In order to survive and be the mother her son needed, she had to dig deep and find more strength than she knew existed. She moved through all of the grief stages. First denial, then anger and bargaining. She'd had a brief bout of depression but pulled through with the help from the Davis clan and the realization of how much Danny needed her. Finally, she landed in acceptance. Ultimately deciding that the best way to honor her husband would be to continue life as the strong woman that he loved. She made a promise to herself and Jason that their son would know him. She would show Danny the pictures of a face that looked just like his, and keep Jason alive through her memories of their lives together.

Never once did she imagine that she would spend a year seeing her husband every day and not recognize him. The only physical trait that remained of the Jason who walked out of her door that October night, was the deep blue eyes that could see into her soul. But there had always been something about Jake Doe that felt familiar to her. She realized now that it was his strong character. Fiercely protective of his loved ones, even when they didn't deserve it. That had to be why he was trying to protect Elizabeth right now. A part of Jason would always protect the woman who birthed his first child. An honor that she didn't deserve, in Sam's opinion.

"Elizabeth knew who I was. She's known for a while now."

Sam let out a short laugh, but it was clear that she found nothing funny. Before he knew it, she had pulled back the covers and made a move to get out of bed.

"Sam…" He said in a warning tone and rushed to grab her legs before her feet hit the floor. She was surprisingly strong for her size and despite the fact that she was recovering from surgery. "Samantha Morgan, what are you doing?" He could tell she was using all her strength to get past him.

"What do you think I'm doing Jason? I know she's here. I think Elizabeth and I need to have a little talk."

I told you that I would handle this Sam, and I will. I need to you to trust me.

"Oh, I trust you with my life Jason. I have never trusted her! That little witch has somehow always managed to convince you that she is innocent. Let her tell a story, and she has never done anything wrong. She was always the victim. She doesn't fool me. I have always seen her for the lying and manipulating little…" Sam's heartrate was skyrocketing and the monitor began to beep rapidly. A floor nurse rushed through the door.

"Mrs. Morgan, what is going on." The nurse quickly raced to Sam's side and began checking all of her vitals.

"I just got a little worked up…" the beeping began to slow.

"You just had surgery this morning, you can't get worked up. You should be resting." The nurse said sternly.

"I know, I just need to go for a quick walk." Sam said as she pulled her arm away. "Do you know if nurse Webber is on duty?" Sam tried to shift again to get out of bed, but was blocked by the nurse.

"You absolutely can not get out of this bed right now. Do I need to give you a sedative?"

Sam let out a frustrated breath, and Jason could tell she was getting ready for a fight.

"Actually, I think she might need one."

"Jason…" Sam said with irritation. Like magic, the nurse pulled out a syringe and injected the medication into Sam's I.V.

"I have to ask you to leave, sir." She said sternly. "We will allow Mrs. Morgan to have visitors in the morning."

Jason couldn't fight the smile that came to his lips as he heard her name…. his name. The reminder that she was indeed his wife thrilled him a little.

"Absolutely," Jason replied quickly. "Just let me say goodbye. I'll be gone in a minute." He walked up to Sam's bed and gently took her hand.

"Do not come back before visiting hours begin." The nurse responded as she walked out the door.

Jason snickered a little as the nurse closed the door. "I asked you to stay calm. Now you got us both in trouble."

"Not funny." Sam said, but there was a slight smile on her face. The medication was kicking in. "I need to know everything. What all did she know? When did she find out? Who told her?"

"No need to dust off your P.I. skills. I'm going to tell you everything, I promise. But you heard the nurse. You need to rest, I should have waited until you were out of the hospital."

"No, Jason." Sam said quickly. "You promised me that we would deal with what's next together. Understanding how we got to this point is part of that."

"Agreed, but not today. I'll come back tomorrow. We can even figure out how we are going to tell Danny."

That brought a sleepy smile to her face as Jason lifted her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. As she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep, he couldn't help but stare and see the new world in front of him. They still had a lot to figure out. Hell, she was still in a relationship with another man. But when he looked at her, he knew that this was meant to be. She was meant to be in his life, and he in hers. All that was left were the details.

Jason waited until he was sure that Sam was sleep before he slipped out of her room. The list of people he needed to see was long, but at the top of that list was Elizabeth. Jason was dreading the conversation with her, but it had to happen before Sam tracked her down. He didn't need his memories to know that Elizabeth would not fair well in a confrontation between the two. Despite what Sam said, he didn't feel a need to protect Elizabeth right now. He wanted to protect Sam. She had just survived a gunshot wound and surgeries. The last thing she needed was to go toe-to-toe with Elizabeth.

Sam woke up to the feel of a blood pressure cuff, as the nurse checked her vitals. She had no idea what time it was, but the darkness outside her hospital window told her that it was either really late or really early. She looked up at the digital clock on the wall, and saw that it was 10:30. She had slept for a few hours. She struggled to focus her eyes with only the dim light coming in from the hallway.

"How am I holding up?" She asked groggily. "Think they will let me out of here anytime soon?"

Here eyes focused, just as the nurse responded.

"I don't think so Sam, you have been through quite a bit over the last couple of days and I saw in your charts that you had a rough afternoon." Elizabeth responded.

"You would know just how much, wouldn't you?" Sam quickly snatched her arm away and adjusted herself struggling to sit up.

"You have some nerve coming in here, but I'm glad you did. I don't want you as my nurse. The thing keeping me from beating the hell out of you right now is the fact that I need answers. Once we have this conversation, I don't ever want to see your face again."

"Sam I…." Elizabeth began to back away slowly.

"Don't waste your breath trying to deny anything. I know what you are capable of. I know what a liar you are and how manipulative you can be. You will stay here, answer my questions and then you will get the hell out of my life and Jason's."

If looks along could kill, Elizabeth would have been dead and buried. Sam grabbed the bar on her bed to steady herself as she sat up further. She was barely keeping her anger in check.

"Start talking. And if I even think that you are trying to feed me another lie, I swear it will be the last one you ever tell."

Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably then a look of defeat came over her face. "I never meant to hurt anyone Sam, I really did see a way for us to all be happy…. I first found out at the Nurse's Ball."