Empty. Cold. Jason's eyes drifted open to fall on the reach of his hand that had moved to hold her the second his brain stirred from sleep, but the spot where the hot, incredibly flexible and brazen lover had enticed him to sleep was now bare. Eyes that opened and combed the space to find her belongings missing, closed again when his brain sighed in acute disappointment. He didn't need to call for her…she was long gone!

His eyes opened again when he suddenly wondered if he had dreamt it all! The soft, velvety feel of her against him, the cushioned, spectacular fit he was inside her, the glorious explosion from their bodies intertwined together…had it been real? When he rolled to the pillow next to him to find the sweet, enchanting scent of her still there, he breathed easy again and released the held breath. She had been there! They'd had indescribable sex together…but now she was gone.

A quick gaze at the window showed him it was early - the dawn was just rising and the new year had started. Boy, had it started! Sitting up and throwing his feet over the side of the bed, Jason sat for a minute to contemplate the amazing start of what began as the best year he'd known since he woke up in that hospital. If the night was anything to go by, it was bound to be more incredible than he had any right to. But she had left…why would she leave after what they'd shared? Had it only been good for him?

The remembered sounds of her raptured cries echoed his ears, and the clasping gyration of her voluptuous body strummed every surface of him still, and he knew it had been equally as phenomenal for her too. No…she was running. And he knew why! But there was no way he could let her get away now!

Jason took a shower, where he allowed the water to run cool when thoughts of her joined him there, picturing how he could've taken her there again and again, if only she'd stayed. He got dressed for the day and made himself strong coffee, eying the clock as he forced himself to wait for a decent hour to pop up on her doorstep. He had a date to pick up his son and bring him back for sledding, which would give him the perfect opportunity to see her too. Suddenly remembering how she made avoiding him an art form when she wanted to, he decided it was better to show up right away, before she had the chance to escape. He was just about to call a car when a knock sounded at the door.

"What are you doing here?"

He heard the coldness in his own voice and thought it was probably a tad harsh, but it seemed his natural response to the man.

"Early bout at the gym this morning, you know - get a move on making things happen this year? Thought I'd swing by and see how you're making out."

Jason stepped back when Sonny Corinthos advanced to enter, not that he'd been invited to.

"It's a little early for social calls."

Sonny entered the room and turned to face the man who'd made so much of his life possible, but who couldn't remember any of it.

"Not really a social call, honestly."

Jason's already dubious eyes scanned the man closer. "Then what is it?"

Peeling the gloves off, Sonny told him bluntly, "I saw you chase after that freak last night and Michael told me about your conversation. When there was nothing on the news this morning about a dead body found somewhere, I figured you could probably use some help to get it done. We have certain channels to handle these kind of situations, if you get my drift."

Moving around the man, Jason shook his head in dismissal. "You've had years to handle it and haven't bothered, so why the interest now?" He reclaimed his abandoned coffee cup and took a swig.

Sonny nodded knowingly. "When you're right, you're right! That freak should've never been allowed to live after what he did to Sam and Michael, and if you were still here when he turned up again, you would've taken care of him the second he showed his face." When Jason kept his back turned to him, Sonny looked down at his hands and continued, "But I couldn't touch him…I wanted to, I can tell ya that! I almost did, when he showed the tape of what he did to you and Sam in Hawaii…but Sam stopped me. She wanted to hear what he had to say, and after we saw…it was a good thing she had a chance to see that. It gave her hope that maybe it really was all staged for your benefit and maybe she hadn't been put through the ugliest part of it afterall. Then when Danny got sick and he turned out to be a match…"

Jason spun at the mention of his son. "Danny got sick? Sick with what?" He took a quick step towards Sonny when the man hesitated to answer. "What was wrong with Danny that he needed a match?"

Sonny realized what he'd said and the alarm that it sent up. Shit, that's right…he wouldn't know. Gesturing towards the coffee pot he asked, "May I?" Then moved to pour himself a cup when no answer came. Taking a much needed gulp of the strong, black liquid, he turned back to his friend to shake his world.

"Danny was only about a year old, shortly after you'd…what happened to you…when we found out he had…" he couldn't help trailing off when he realized the devastating impact of the news he was about to impart…"Lukemia."

It was barely a whisper and Jason thought for a second he probably heard wrong. Maybe he said anemia. No, no - it was soft spoken but clear!

"My son has cancer?" The equally soft and unbelieving question left him as his mind tried to match his vital, enigmatic, beautiful boy with the ugly, deadly, grown up disease. His radiant, mischievous little smile came to Jason's mind and his quick, stirring questions echoed in his ear as he pictured his babyboy battling for his tiny life.

"Had! To be clear, Danny kicked cancer's butt and he's fine now. But back then, we were still being led to believe that Freako was your twin and could possibly be a match for Danny. If that was the case, I couldn't do anything to the one person who could save my brother's little boy. That was the only reason he was allowed to live, you have to believe that. What he did to my son, what he did to Sam…he deserved to die! His little tapes didn't matter much - what mattered was that his actions hurt them and caused them to suffer for a really long time…believe me, I wanted the son-of-a-bitch dead!"

Jason backed to the sofa and dropped when his legs wouldn't hold anymore. His babyboy almost died? He could've come back to find himself in a world where he would've only learned that he'd had a son, after the fact? His sweet, precious little boy wouldn't be here now? Making him laugh and constantly giving him food for thought? Brightening his day and filling him with proud, enamored awe? He could be living in a world where there was no Danny?

"So he saved Danny?"

Sonny moved closer to where Jason sat on the sofa. "No, turned out he couldn't. We have the other son-of-a-bitch in town, Julian Jerome, to thank for saving Danny's life…which coincidently, is the only thing that saved his miserable hide too." When Jason looked at him puzzled, Sonny explained, "Julian is a pitiful bastard who doesn't deserve the air he breaths either, but after Sam and Spinelli…after we all tried everything and nothing worked, Julian turned out to be a match. He was the one who donated so Danny could get better."

That made sense. Julian was Sam's father and Danny's grandfather. He owed Julian and didn't even know it. What else didn't he know? What else monumental had happened in his absence from his sons' lives that he needed to hear about? His wife hadn't only been forced to raise their son without any help from him, but it turns out she'd had to deal with one emotional roller coaster after the other, and he hadn't been there. Then he came back and still hadn't been there because he was too busy living a life for somebody else - right to her face! If he had thought her strong before, she was doubly moreso now!

Jason cleared his throat as he tried to reign the emotions he didn't want unfolding in front of a stranger. "I owe Julian!"

"You owe him nothing! He didn't know at the time that he was Danny's grandfather and he sure as hell didn't save Danny out of the goodness of his heart. I was gunning for him, so when he found out he was a match, it's what he used as a bargaining chip to save his own miserable life. Julian Jerome is no saint - Danny was a shield he used to survive. But we didn't care - all that mattered was that he could save him when all the money you and I amassed in this world, couldn't. That gave him a pass."

Jason rose from the sofa to dismiss his audience. "I need to pickup Danny."

Sonny took the hint and nodded, moving towards the door, then turned back to his friend. "Your truck wasn't out front when I drove up - you need a ride?"

Jason cursed beneath his breath when he realized he'd need to call and wait for a car to get there in the snow, which would probably take an hour that he wanted desperately to be sharing with Danny. Nodding tersely at the offer, he grabbed his leather jacket from the back of the sofa and grudgingly followed Sonny out. He could suffer a few minutes in a car with the man to get to his son.

After a mostly silent twenty minute ride, Sonny turned onto Harborview Drive and Jason had to tell him to take him to Elizabeth's instead, answering the questioning look by informing him that's where his SUV was.

"You still messing with that? Looked to me last night like you and Sam were making progress."

Jason was silent as he contemplated telling the man to mind his own damn business. "She needed a ride - I gave her mine."

Nodding at the simple explanation that he knew from experience was anything but, Sonny had a little bit more to add, "Just don't lose sight of what you really want again. Everytime you try to make something work with Elizabeth, you end up beating your head against a wall. It's just not for you, man."

When they pulled up, her car was parked behind the SUV and Jason grumbled beneath his breath, annoyed at her tiring little games. He knew damn well she purposely moved her car to block him in, so he'd be forced to see her instead of using the spare key he'd brought to simply take it and leave without so much as ringing the doorbell. The boys had spent the night at Audrey's so she could go out, so he knew they weren't home. When he felt Sonny's eyes studying him, he thanked the man for the ride and got out, ignoring the drawled, goood luuck.

Jason rang the bell and waited only a second before the door swung open to reveal her clad in a shortie white robe that was open to show the transparent matching teddy beneath…like it wasn't freezing and snowing out. Ignoring the obvious ploy for what it was, he gestured behind him, "Can you move your car?"

"Good morning to you too! Come on, Jason - despite everything, you and I have always remained friends and you've never been anything but respectful and polite with me. This animosity is so unlike you."

"I'm sorry, but you make it a little difficult with all the games you keep playing. Is there any reason why you have my car blocked in right now, when it was the last thing you drove last night?"

"Will you at least come in? It's freezing and I'd like to shut the door."

"No, I'm not staying. I'll wait out here while you get a coat on. Please move your car."

"You haven't even asked to see Jake…don't you want to wish your son a happy new year?"

"I would, if he was here."

Her chin went up in defense. "You don't know that he's not upstairs."

"Is he?" He knew damn well he wasn't.

She pulled the flimsy robe around her and shivered. "Jason, please? We need to talk."

"It's not a good time - I have somewhere I need to be."

"Yes, the same place you always need to be…with Sam and that little brat you've used to replace Jake. I'm the one who gave you a son first - where is your obligation to our son?"

His patience was fading really fast and he just wanted to go hold his little boy.

"I have an obligation to both my sons…and right now I need to go see for myself that the one nobody, including you, bothered to tell me almost died, didn't! Move your damn car, or it's getting my bumper in two minutes."

"Danny may have almost died, but he didn't! You know who did? Jake! For five long, miserable, heartbreaking years our son was dead to us, Jason, and all of that time I spent mourning him alone. I don't see you breaking your neck to run come see him."

"From what Carly told me, alone was how you'd chosen to raise Jake before I disappeared, so why bitch about doing anything alone? Why is everything a competition with you? I have two sons - two! Jake came back and I've been loving and taking care of him the whole time since - that won't ever change. I've had the chance to process the miracle of his return and it's every bit as meaningful to me as finding out about Danny. I just found out about Danny, and I need to go see him, so this meaningless conversation is done!"

Anger riling up in him, Jason walked to the SUV and started it on its way, pushing the car behind him to the end of the driveway and half in the street, then cutting the wheel to a sharp right that took him over the snow covered shrubs and back onto the street, where he veered towards Harborview Towers, without a backward glance. Waste of damn time!

Elizabeth was shaking and she knew it wasn't from just the freezing cold. He really just ran over her car and shrubbery in his haste to get away from her. He really was that anxious to be rid of her company and invitation. As she watched the taillights disappear from view, the heart that had thumped erratically at his arrival, thudded sadly at his dramatic departure, and she had no choice but to grab her coat and the keys for the car so she could move it out of the street.

Jason arrived at Sam's door, just as the sitter was leaving out.

"Mr. Morgan, hi!" She gestured behind her as she pushed an arm into the sleeve of her coat. "Mrs. Morgan and Danny are upstairs - do you want me to get them for you?"

"No, Trudy - thanks. I've got it."

He braced the door with his hand to allow her to pass, then nodded in response to her smile and wave, before going in and closing it behind him. The penthouse was quiet, and if he hadn't just been told they were home, Jason would guess Sam and Danny had gone out. He walked silently around the room, drinking in the place that was slowly becoming familiar again, stopping at the mantle to gaze at the photos displayed there. For the first time in a very long time, he was able to look at his old face with ease and feel a familiarity, pausing to notice for the first time, how happy the man in that picture looked. He was with his family, his baby son sat between them and his beautiful wife was beaming with joy. They made a good-looking family, and Jason could appreciate how he must've felt that day - getting their son back, getting his wife back, getting their life back!

Danny was such a happy baby! Jason looked from the trio to the other photos of him on the mantle, in various stages of his precious development, and he could see that Sam had given their boy a very happy life. He was such a wonderful, special, incredible kid!

"Daddy!"

Music to Jason's ears had him spinning to open his arms just in time to catch an excited leap into them, when Danny ran from the stairs to where he stood.

"Hey, Buddy!"

His greeting sounded thick and garbled and Jason was surprised at the lump that had formed to clog his throat. Pushing back hot tears that stung the corner of his eyes, he enveloped his seed tightly, squeezing him to his chest as he buried his head in his neck, rocking him softly as he moved in front of the mantle. This! He'd almost missed out on this unbelievably important and special existence and he hadn't even known it till now. Shifting his head so he could plant a kiss to the side of his son's, Jason shuddered and buried his face back in Danny's neck and squeezed him tighter still.

"What's the matter Daddy?"

The innocent question and tiny arms circling his neck wrenched one trapped tear from the corner of his eye, tugging at his heart, where the little boy had completely invaded and planted a homestead flag for all eternity. Struggling for composure, Jason kissed his head again in loving reassurance.

"Nothing's wrong, Buddy! I'm just really, really glad to see you! So glad!"

The tiny arms squeezed him as though sensing he needed it badly. "Me too, Daddy. Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year, Bud!"

Sam had been right behind Danny when her head startled at hearing him yell daddy. What was he doing here already? She had plans to be gone before he showed up in a few hours, having arranged for the sitter to come back to wait for him to pick Danny up. As she contemplated easing backwards up the stairs before he saw her, she heard the broken way in which he answered Danny's greeting, and it gave her pause. Something in the way in which he was holding onto Danny for dear life, something in the way he kept kissing and rocking him…something had him shook.

Easing all the way down the stairs, she hovered on the last one and watched them curiously. Something was wrong.

Sensing her, Jason looked up to meet her eyes, his heart making room once again as the charge from the previous night flashed him still.

"Hey!" In his head he'd said so much more.

"Hey!" Sam stepped from the last stair and approached them slowly. "You're early - didn't we say one?"

Jason squeezed Danny's arm, needing to keep touching him, unable to put him down just yet. "Yeah - I couldn't wait to see this guy - I hope you don't mind?" His eyes locked hers as they asked about her, but she lowered hers before he could see.

"No, of course not." Except for the part where she was supposed to be long gone, that is.

Jason squeezed Danny's arm again. "You want to run upstairs and get into your warmest long johns and sweats? We have a big, snowy hill to tackle in thirty minutes - what do you say?"

The brightest smile transformed Danny's little face. "Yaaaa!"

Jason laid him down almost reluctantly, but knowing he'd start to worry him if he held him any longer. They would have the whole day together and he'd get to hold him tight as they slid through the snow. He'd never miss another chance to hold him close again. He watched with Sam as Danny bounded up the stairs and disappeared into his room to get dressed for the cold, then Jason turned his attention to the woman who was trying to make her way to the kitchen to get away from him. Following behind, he watched as she started the coffee maker, leaning lazily against the counter as he concentrated on making her blush.

"Fleeing like a thief in the night will not save you, Morgan."

Sam bit her lip as she kicked herself again for not leaving the penthouse sooner. She used to be able to predict his every move - she should've known he'd show up early after what happened between them. Changing the subject was her only safe play.

"What was that about? You looked like you wanted to hug the life out of Danny!" She kept her eyes averted as she got the creamer from the fridge and two coffee mugs from a cupboard, purposely avoiding all contact, uncertain of what hers might betray.

Jason knew what she was doing but he could wait. He wanted to talk about this first anyway.

"Sonny came to see me. He thought I knew about Danny's…cancer."

A mug toppled from her hands to the counter, and Sam hurriedly uprighted it before she took a breath. It wasn't only that she hadn't been looking forward to telling him about Danny's illness, but she hated having to revisit the most fearful, pain-stricken time in their lives, a time when the life of her son hung in the balance and there was not one damn thing she could've done about it! The pain of losing Jason had hit her harder than anything she'd ever survived before…until she was faced with the possibility of losing their child too. It was almost a full minute before she could make her voice work.

"When I lost Lila, I thought no pain could be greater. There was a point during that experience where I literally wanted to die too. Then when Danny was born and for those four horrible, despondent months I had to feel that pain again, I thought - why does God hate me so much? But he gave Danny back to me, he gave me you, and we started a life together - the way we'd always wanted, and I started to think…maybe he doesn't hate me so much afterall. But as soon as I started to think that, he took you away from me, and just a few months later, gave my son that horrible, horrible disease, and I thought, he's having the time of his life teasing and toying with me. He must really frown upon the sins I've committed in my early life, to be punishing me this cruelly. To be using my children to teach me that I've committed atrocities and he's very displeased. I thought for sure he'd take Danny too, just to punish me."

Jason moved like lightning to her, the agony in her trembling voice grabbing his heart as he pulled her to his arms and planted her against his chest, soothing her hair with gentle strokes.

"It's okay, Sam. It's all okay now."

She hadn't meant to cry. The tears came from out of nowhere to drench his shirt before she could stop them, and as she allowed herself to be held, Sam laughed through the sobs and shook her head against his chest.

"I cried for this…during that time when Danny was so sick…I cried for your arms to fall into, to have your comfort and your strength to help our son through it. I knew that if you were there that Danny would be okay because you would find a way - you always find a way…but you were already gone."

"I'm here now, Sam. You'll never face another day or another single thing in our son's life alone again - I swear." His throat got lumpy for the second time since he'd been there, his heart breaking for the despondent solitude his absence had visited upon his family.

Like a bucket of cold water had been tossed, Sam felt her shoulders rise again and her spirit pick itself up. Pushing back out of his arms slowly, she wiped at the tears that streaked her face, turning from him to wash her hands at the sink and grab a towel.

"I'm sorry about that. I don't know what came over me suddenly. Danny's fine now. He's been in remission for years - thank God. We stay ontop of his regular checkups and there's not a rash or a fever that doesn't get checked immediately."

Jason was caught off guard by how quickly she reset her countenance, leaving his arms and putting her blockades back up. Cool, calm Sam was firmly back in place in a manner of minutes and he knew he was in for a fight to reach her vulnerability again.