Chapter 7

"Good morning sleeping beauty," he said when he knew she had woken up. The two of them lay in their king bed and Jason was lying on his side, his hand on her hip, pulling her closer to him. He'd been awake for quite a time now and he didn't feel the need to get out of bed or wake up Sam. She looked peaceful when she slept. Much more peaceful than when awake and faced with trouble of figuring out her new world.

It was now officially three weeks since being released from the hospital and just yesterday the doctor told them that the concussion was resolved, and that Sam could return to work. Jason had been hoping that the drastic change would become accustomed to over time but in fact, it seemed every day there was something, to Sam's realization, that was different or that she was missing out of. Being earnest, Jason had hoped by some miracle that Sam would've had her hearing back already, but he knew that was a far cry since the doctor's final assessment before sending Sam home.

"Hi," she replied, having felt the vibration of his voice reverberated in the room.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. He stopped asking if she could hear. It always resulted in a somber mood. Maybe one day it wouldn't but it wouldn't be soon.

"I'm okay." She answered, shrugging her shoulders. "What time is it?"

He turned around to his nightstand and took his phone, showing it to her.

"Time to get out of bed and start the day," she said, and she begrudgingly pulled the covers off her, leaving a large sigh in its wake. Jason quickly reached over, preventing her from sitting up.

"Wait, Sam."

"Jason, not now. I want to take a shower." She could feel Jason sigh. He was missing the intimacy. There was the occasional kiss and comforting hug. Sometimes a hair swipe, especially when she was upset, which wasn't too infrequent lately, but they didn't share the same space as they used to. It wasn't just about sex, though it played a role, but Jason was also missing the holding and the snuggling. Sam hasn't necessarily been cold to him, but she'd reject his casual and subtle advances. She was pulling away from him. Jason hasn't been able to figure out a reason why or a way to fix it without coming off as needy, selfish and/or desperate. Surely, he'd need to give her time.

He watched her unenthusiastically step out of bed, pick up her bathrobe from the floor, put it on, and then walk over to the bathroom. He also unenthusiastically got out of bed, headed down the stairs to start a pot of coffee and prepared a bowl of cereal for him and Sam.

Running his hand through his hair, he let out a long and frustrated sigh. The doctor's appointment two days ago had nearly sapped all the energy away from the penthouse environment. Sam seemingly went to bed earlier and earlier and would take longer naps. She wasn't eating as much as she used to. Hence why he only prepared a bowl of cereal instead of his usual gourmet omelet.

He grabbed his phone from his pocket to look through his messages and emails. There were too many and he found it hard to find a time when he was able to concentrate and get through them all. He must have over 20 assortments of messages from Sonny alone.

Jason was concerned for Brenda's wellbeing, certainly, but he could feel a rising resentment towards Sonny as the mobster continued to try to call and text. Feeling like he was doing the best he could, Jason couldn't understand what more Sonny could possibly want from him. After Sam had practically begged Jason to go back to work this past week, he's been spending his entire days looking for leads and leading the investigation into various directions along with Spinelli. And he felt as if perhaps Sonny didn't understand that he wanted desperately to find Brenda as well, albeit for a different reason. He knew that where Brenda is, is where Theo is, and he was going to exact his revenge.

"Can you take me to my PI office today?" Sam asked as she trotted down the steps, running a hand through her wet hair.

"Yes, of course. We can drop the kids off first and then I can drive over to the PI office on the way back," he answered. He knew she must be going stir crazy. She wasn't allowed to drive yet and it severely limited her on where she was able to go, beyond just the doctor's appointments etc. He handed her a cup of coffee.

"Thank you," she replied.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine."

"Would you like anything to eat?"

"No, thank you. I'm not hungry." And she took a few sips of her coffee.

"What are you going to do in the PI office?' Jason asked. At a previous doctor's appointment with Patrick, Sam was given the all clear to return to work and to resume all normal activity. Sam immediately jumped at the opportunity and that evening went outside for a run for the first time in a long while. Finally, she was out of the stuffy penthouse and finally she could feel like she could breathe just a little bit easier.

"I'm not sure," she answered honestly, "I think I'll see when I get there. I'm going to wake up Danny, get him ready for school." And with that, she placed her now empty cup of coffee on the kitchen counter and walked back up the stairs. Meanwhile, Jason took the other bowl of cereal he'd left for Sam and ate it.

Sam's PI business had taken a hit. Spinelli had taken over but it was difficult for him being on the opposite side of the country. Sam had wanted to begin working the moment she stepped foot into the penthouse, but Jason had put a firm foot down. He argued that she was still recovering and needed time to heal. In truth, Jason was afraid that if Sam were to go out, she wouldn't be able to hear danger approaching.

The two had argued back and forth the night before with Jason offering up to help Spinelli and do all the field work to keep the business afloat. Sam was hesitant. Jason was infamous around town and easily recognizable and visible with his big stature. He couldn't get away with hiding behind a potted plant. Nevertheless, the two of them hatched a compromise such that Sam could start working again but not endanger herself. Jason would need to be especially cautious regarding surveillance work and Sam would keep herself in the office.

"When did my worth get to zero," Sam thought to herself in a moment of self-deprecation. There was a time when she was one of the best PIs in the state. Where she felt like she was being a decent mother to her two kids.

Sam was one never to wallow in her own self-pity but here she was giving into her pitiful thoughts. And previously, she'd get angry but who was she to get angry with? Sonny? He wouldn't care. All he cared about was finding Brenda. She had yet to even hear from him since the entire fiasco started. Was she to get angry with Theo? He'd most likely enjoy that, the sick bastard he is.

Stepping into her office, she could see that some cobwebs had formed around the corners of the green walls and dust had settled all over the old brown cabinets. It'd been over a month since anyone had stepped foot here and it was showing. Sam wiped away some dust from the top of her desk and put down her bag and books before walking over to the back room to gather cleaning supplies.

"Nothing like a good cleaning to fix this place up," and she went straight to work. She dusted all the dust away, vacuumed all the webs, and mopped the stingy floors. Already being in a cleaning mood she then moved unto reorganizing all the filing cabinets and looking through old case files to see if she still needed them or if they were unnecessarily occupying needed space.

She was craving another cup of coffee. Simply a few hours of work and she was exhausted. It was like her body was running on empty, which it quite was, not that Sam seemed to notice or care much.

"Ugh, come on. I have to clean you out as well?" Sam said to herself as she looked at the coffee machine. And then she screeched and jumped as someone lightly tapped her on her shoulder.

"Are you looking for this?" it was her mother holding up two cups of coffee from the local coffee shop.

"Mom!" she yelled. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry honey," Alexis apologized.

"How did you know I was here?"

"Jason," they both answered simultaneously. "Did he call you?" Sam asked her mom. She was aware that Jason was worried and perhaps maybe sent her mother out to check on her.

"No. I called him. I wanted to ask how you were doing and if you and I can grab lunch. Little did I know you were going to work today." Alexis replied.

"Hm," Sam took a sip from the coffee, "thank you for the coffee."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just cleaning up the office here. Seemed a few unwelcome spiders took up residence." Sam answered. "I'm happy to be back in the office."

"Do you have any interesting cases?" Alexis asked, pulling up a chair from the corner of the room and taking a seat along with Sam.

"Nope. Same old."

"Hm." There was a pause of silence as there was clearly a thick air in the room for some reason. Alexis saw that her daughter was pale, and her eyes were sunken in. Her jeans seemed to be loser around her legs as well. "Are you sure you're alright?" Alexis asked again, hoping for a more truthful answer this time.

"Yeah." Sam answered. "I don't know. I feel like Jason is hovering."

"Are you sure he isn't just worried about you?"

"I mean, I don't understand why he would be," Sam stood up and walked to the opposite side of the room, running her hands through her hair.

"Maybe it's because he feels helpless."

Sam walked back over to the desk that she was previously sitting at to look at the tablet to see what her mom had just said.

"Why would he feel helpless, mom? I keep telling him I'm fine and I am! Obviously, there's some adjusting that needs to be done. And I'm adjusting, I am. I mean, you can see, I'm doing fine!" Sam said and she became increasingly frustrated and agitated through her rant.

"Who are you trying to convince?" Alexis asked, pulling Sam's arm to have her sit down across from her again. Sam looked away upon reading Alexis's question and bit her lip. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." And there was another pause, this one longer than the last.

"Honey, you can't bottle everything in. You can say you're fine a million times but you're not fooling anyone, especially not me. I know you. I can tell that you're not fine and you need to talk to someone. Jason, me, your sisters, heck even a therapist, just someone, please," Alexis said reaching for her daughter's hand.

"A therapist?!"

"It was just a suggestion. It doesn't mean you have to follow it. I'm worried about you. I think a lot of us are worried about you."

"Mom, I just need space. I need a place where people aren't hovering over me."

"Okay, but you have to understand that that can be difficult for us. We want you to be okay and that can come across as being overbearing," Alexis explained and tried to reason.

"Then give me at least an hour a day where I can be on my own and breathe. Let me be alone for just that moment in a day."

"Okay," Alexis agreed, not wanting to push it any further, and then continued, "I still think it's a good idea for you to have a sit-down conversation with Jason. You two can work together on what you need. And I promise I'll do my best to not hover."

"Thank you, Mom," Sam stepped out of her chair to reach over and give her mom a tight hug. Alexis most assuredly returned with a warm encompassing hug.

"Come on, let's go grab some lunch," Alexis stood up and took her daughter's hand.