AU: Thank you for the reviews. Enjoy the read!
Chapter 5
"Shame on you for not checking the interior of your car before climbing in, Ms. McCall." Theo said as Sam looked up at her rear-view mirror.
"What do you want?"
"You're not very skilled as a conversationalist, are you?"
"You're never going to get your big revenge. Jason's going to get you first."
"That would be rather difficult, as Mr. Morgan is now at the Pine Barrens waiting to ambush me. In the meantime, I regret to inform you that your resemblance to the new Mrs. Corinthos will cost you your life."
"Get out of this car!" Sam demanded. Her heart was in her throat, beating too many times a second and her hands were gripped over the steering wheel, her knuckles turning a blanket white color. How did he know Jason was going to ambush him? The fact that he knows means Jason is in danger! "Get out now or…"
"Or you'll what?" Theo interrupted. He had this iconic haunting slow way of speech that drew chills down her spine. "I suggest you put more thought towards your next action. Your sisters would appreciate it"
Sam felt an anger boil inside her. She reached down to her jacket pocket, pulling out her small pistol and turned around to see her enemy, face to face, eye to eye.
"I swear if you do anything to…"
"Again, Ms. McCall, I would highly suggest you do not finish your threat. I am aware that Molly knows my true identity. I have ordered one of my armed henchmen to keep an eye on her. With the press of a button on my phone here, your sister will be no longer." Theo finished his own threat. Sam carefully turned back around and closed her eyes, almost as if to waive the white flag.
"That's better. Place your berretta in the passenger seat," and Sam followed the instruction, slowly and carefully giving up her gun. "Now place your hands back on the steering wheel."
Suddenly, the passenger side door opened and, along with a gust of wind, a gruel looking man stepped into the car, before closing the door behind him. The slam of the door made Sam flinch.
"Meet my employee, Mr. Stain."
Sam was almost afraid to turn her head and look.
"What do you plan to do with me?" Sam asked. At that moment, the henchman pulled out a small pouch from his jacket pocket. Opening it, he took a syringe, needle and small vial.
"As I said before, your resemblance to Ms. Brenda Barrett will be your most unfortunate downfall," Theo cryptically explained. In the meanwhile, the henchman filled the syringe with whatever was in the vial. Sam took notice.
"I'm willing to go with you, voluntarily. There is no need to drug me," Sam pleaded.
"Unfortunately, Ms. McCall, that is not how the plan works," and suddenly, the henchman leaped over, syringe in hand, plunged the needle into Sam's neck.
"No!"
Sam shot up from the couch, with labored breaths and sweaty palms. Sam felt comforting arms engulfing and holding her.
"Jason," she said breathlessly upon the realization that he was hugging her. She was covered in sweat as her shirt clung to her body.
"It's okay, you're safe," Jason said. Sam could feel the vibrations of his voice against her head as he held her forehead underneath his chin.
"Jason, it was Theo," Sam said, still breathless.
"I know. It was just a nightmare. Do you remember what happened?" he asked with expressive gestures. Taking a seat beside Sam, Jason placed his arm behind her on the couch.
"The kids?" Sam asked, not purposefully changing the subject but also wanting to ensure the kids were safe. She pulled a piece of wet hair out of her face and pulled it behind her ear.
"Still napping," Jason replied. The two kids were in the midst of their afternoon nap. Danny had been so ecstatically happy to see his mom back home. He insisted that he show her all he had done at school in the past week, including a book that they were learning to read and his handwriting. Then the two and Jason played all sorts of board games, Danny seemingly unphased that his mother couldn't hear him. And in the meantime, Sam kept an eye on her youngest who lay beside her in her playpen. Sam would occasionally look over and tickle her tummy or play with a plush toy to make her laugh. By afternoon, Sam, Danny, and Scout were spent. Jason brought the kids to their room and Sam crashed on the couch.
Jason could tell that Sam was still haunted by her nightmare.
"Do you want to tell me about the nightmare you had? Do you remember it?"
"Bits and pieces," Sam answered. "The last thing I see is Theo in my rearview mirror with the most wicked and evil smile."
"He can't hurt you anymore," Jason said as if it was a matter of fact.
"Is he dead?"
Jason hesitated to answer truthfully. "No." Sam's breath hitched. "We can't find him. But I will protect you."
"How?" she asked. It was not meant to offend Jason or belittle his abilities, but Theo is smart. He had everyone fooled for months. He was in plain sight for so long. Jason grabbed the iPad and handed it to Sam, feeling that gestures and mouthing the words weren't going to be enough for Sam to understand.
"I will keep you safe Sam. Don't worry about Theo," Jason replied vaguely. In earnest, he didn't have a better reply. He could wallow in the solace that Theo had no use for Sam, or her sisters, any more and wouldn't come after them again. He still needed to pay for what he did to Sam, though.
"Brenda?!" It suddenly dawned on Sam that it had been at Brenda's wedding when disaster struck and that Theo was ultimately after Brenda, and not herself. "Is she okay?"
"We don't know," Jason grabbed Sam's hands, in the hopes of calming her down, as her breathing was still heavy.
"What do you mean, Jason?"
"Theo kidnapped Brenda. He used you in the limo explosion as a decoy in the hopes that it would make everyone think that Brenda had died in the explosion. While everyone was trying to find out if Brenda was okay, Theo took Brenda. By the time we realized it was you in the limo and not Brenda, Theo was already long gone with Brenda."
"And you don't know where he took her?"
"No. We have a couple of leads though. Sonny is working with Spinelli on trying to pinpoint where Theo could have brought Brenda."
"Jason, you need to help Sonny find Brenda! He must be going crazy!"
"No Sam," he vehemently shook his head, "I'm not leaving you alone."
"I'm fine. I can take care of myself and the kids," Sam insisted.
"No, Sam, you cannot!"
Sam stared at him, shocked he'd say such a thing.
"Jason!"
"No!" Jason kept his argument. "You're still recovering from a concussion. What if you were to pass out and no one was around to help you or the kids?"
"Jason! I haven't fainted since the second day I was in the hospital!" Sam argued.
"And what about your migraines! You had one yesterday and you couldn't get out of bed!"
"They come on at night!"
Suddenly Jason's head turned to something behind Sam and he got up, running up the stairs. It took Sam a split moment to realize that Jason had heard Scout crying through the baby monitor. She couldn't hear it. She couldn't hear her own child crying for her. Jason didn't want to leave her alone because, as he said, she couldn't take care of her kids. Not because of her dizzy spells or her migraines. It was because she couldn't hear when the kids needed her. If Scout was crying or Danny needed attention, she wouldn't know.
How was she supposed to be a good mother to her two children if she couldn't be there for them? How was she to comfort them when she didn't know when to comfort them?
She could feel her cheeks redden and burn as her eyes began to well up with tears.
"Sam?" Jason came walking down the stairs with a crying Scout in his arms. He noticed Sam staring at the baby monitor, her eyes glossy and fists clenched. He walked further to stand face to face with Sam and crouched down.
"Sam, it's okay. Can you hold her?" he asked, with a motion as if to hand the baby over. Sam nodded, looking up to Jason with a despaired look. She held out her arms and grabbed Scout, placing the little girl on her lap.
Jason could see Sam wasn't right. He wanted to hold her, to reassure her, but he needed to take care of the crying baby first. "Scout is hungry," he said. He walked off towards the kitchen and Sam tried her best to calm down Scout. She rocked her back and forth and cuddled her.
"Shh," she cooed, "it's okay. Daddy will get you food." The baby squirmed less and less. Soon enough, Jason came back in the living room with a bowl of freshly cut fruit and a sippy cup of milk. He placed the food onto the coffee table and grabbed a bib from the side of the couch.
"Do you want to feed her?" he asked. Sam slowly nodded her head again. She lifted Scout so that her back was against Sam's stomach. Taking the bib from Jason, Sam wrapped it around Scout's neck. Jason handed over the plate of fruit and Scout quickly took a mushy bit of banana and stuffed it into her mouth, making her parents giggle.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Sam swallowed her tears back and looked up towards Jason. "How am I supposed to be a parent?" She bit her tongue to prevent her tears from falling out, not wanting to cry in front of her daughter who was having the best time eating her grapes and blueberries. Jason swiftly took a seat beside Sam, and, again, wrapped his arm around Sam's shoulder.
"Look at me, Sam," he said, gently using his hand on her chin to guide her face. "We will find a way." He grabbed the iPad and quickly spoke into it before handing it to Sam.
"We'll get a vibrating baby monitor, one that you can easily wear around your wrist. We can set up a small camera in the nursery that'll connect to the laptop. And we'll teach Danny how best to communicate with you so that you can stay alone with the kids. Sam, this doesn't make you any less of a mother. Millions of deaf parents do a beautiful job of raising their kids. There isn't a doubt in my mind that you will be the best parent Scout and Danny can have." The iPad said. Jason had been doing his research on how deaf parents are able to parent their children. He'd found out about so many useful tools and he was eager to have them implanted in the penthouse right away. If there was anything he could do to make Sam more independent and confident, he was doing it.
"Thank you," Sam could hardly utter the words, her tears stuck in her throat. Jason smiled, grabbing a strawberry from Scout's plate and bringing it to Sam's mouth. She leaned in and bit it out of his hands.
"Dadda!" Scout yelled, throwing her arms up, clearly upset that her dad had taken a precious fruit from her. Sam and Jason laughed before Jason grabbed another bit of strawberry and bringing it to Scout's mouth this time. All was quickly forgotten.