The sweet aroma of roasted coffee beans drifted past her nostrils and stirred her awake. Stretching into a yawn, Sam allowed her eyes to filter open to the grey, wet day outside the window of her bedroom.
"Morning."
Startled to hear she wasn't alone, her eyes roamed to find the source of the voice in the armchair near the bed and a steaming black mug held in her direction. Suddenly self conscious, Sam reached for the blanket, but found it was bundled beneath her feet where she'd pushed it off her. Looking down, she was relieved to find pajamas in place, but her cheeks burned in the next minute when she couldn't remember putting them on.
"Morning."
Jason got up from the chair and sat on the side of the bed, releasing the cup once she'd gotten a grip.
"I thought you only drank that Corinthos brew…what's this Blue Mountain Peak stuff in your kitchen?"
Sam inhaled deeply then took a heavenly swallow of the warm, delicious darkness. "It was a gift - don't tell Sonny, but I think he's got some serious competition. Have you tried it?"
When he nodded, she took another swill and moaned. Heaven on earth. Without coffee to start her day she'd be a living zombie.
"Where's Danny?"
"The sitter took him to school for you."
Surprised, she looked at the clock on the nightstand and was shocked to see the time.
"You let me sleep 'til almost ten - why?"
"Why not?"
She tried to sound annoyed with him as she started to remember the events of the previous evening. "I have a business to run, Jason. I can't afford to sleep until noon."
"First off - yes, you can. You have a settlement big enough you don't have to work another day in your life. Second - you had a very traumatic evening - you can afford to spend one morning sleeping off the effects of that blasted drug, and you weren't going anywhere, even if I had to tie you to this bed."
Shrugging off the soft throbbing that protested her slow movements, Sam reached for the robe at the edge of the bed, his innocent words conjuring a delightful memory of a time he'd done just that. Down girl!
"That money is for Danny. He'll be able to go to any school he chooses, or anything else he wants to do. I work for a living, and I like it that way."
"Danny owns stocks in ELQ that will pay for any education he seeks. He also has a tidy sum put away for his future…you work because you want to."
"Why are we talking about money?"
"Because I don't want to think about you and that man who wants to take my son. I've heard more than I want to about him already."
Bits of their conversation from the previous night came drifting back. "You don't hate him, you know? You have no reason to, and after your last go round over that fake bitch, you reached an understanding of sorts. Call Lucky. Hear directly from him what this is about, instead of getting worked up over the nurse's always stinted view of things. From my experience, that particular version is usually painted to make her glow in your eyes." She walked towards the open bathroom door, mumbling to herself, "Not that she's had to work hard to get that."
"So you don't think he's been talking to your mother?"
"If he has, he's got good reason. But you won't know if you don't leave me and go find out."
"I don't want to leave you alone."
"I happen to like the solitude."
He was in the same place she'd left him, on the edge of the bed, when she exited the bathroom a shower later.
"Why exactly are you in my bedroom?"
"Were you in love with him?"
"What?"
"You heard me. Did you love him…when you were…"
"I guess so. Look, I told you last night, Jason…Lucky and I were never the love of each other's lives. We had a unique friendship that grew out of the pain of getting your heart and soul stomped on and trampled by the one person you would've died for. He helped me through a really dark period, and he taught me that I wasn't damaged beyond repair. I needed that - back then. But it was a long time ago and we both got over whatever it was and went on with our lives. There's nothing there, not like that."
"But you like him?"
"Of course I like him - he's a likable guy! You like him too - that's what I'm trying to tell you!"
His head tilted in thought. "Some guy who picked up the pieces and held you together after I broke your heart? No, I doubt how much I like him."
"Don't be ridiculous - you're starting to sound as crazy as your harpie!"
"Harpie?"
"Oh, I'm sorry - would you prefer I call her your fiancé?"
"Sam, stop!"
"Don't Sam, stop me, Jason! She wears her ring as proudly as the first time she couldn't wait to show me, and I'm not giving her a label she doesn't still call herself."
"I haven't given her any reason to still be wearing that, and you know I'm not her…whatever…stop changing the subject. Is Lucky, why you ran? Is he why you refuse to talk about what happened between us New Year's Eve? Why we can't try again?"
They'd made it to the first floor of the penthouse, where Sam plopped to the sofa, grunting as she threw her head back against a sofa cushion.
"When have we ever talked about trying again? You have a helluva lot going on, don't you think? You think you have room for anything more right now?"
When he sat beside her, Jason wanted more than anything to hold her, but her body language alone kept him at bay, screaming she wasn't in the mood to play nice.
"I've been trying for two months now to get to more with you, but you hold me so far at arms length I may as well be in the next town. Why don't you want to even talk about us, Sam?"
"Why do you? You never used to like talking, you know that?"
"I still don't…but this is too important. Don't you feel the same?"
The timbre of his voice confused her…as if the answer would either break or make him, and Sam couldn't hide her own curiosity at what it was that she really wanted them to be.
"It doesn't really matter how I feel. We've tried to make this work - it doesn't. You have obligations elsewhere, and you have people depending on you that don't include Danny and me. We're okay - we're fine - you're free to do what you need to, Jason."
"What about what I want to do…doesn't that count for anything?"
She studied him closely. "Tell the truth, that changes from day to day. It's okay - you're only human…and you're a decent one. You have another family - that's just how life worked out for us. I've learned to accept that and I don't fantasize about what we could be anymore - the reality isn't so bad."
He looked down at dainty fingers playing with the edge of her yoga pants, and without thought, he found his own interlocking, just to be touching her. When she didn't pull away, he raised nervous eyes to meet hers.
"I do."
"You do what?"
"Fantasize about you…daily."
"Oh, really? What do you think about?" The electricity from his blue gaze had her fixated when the next words left his lips.
"That remarkable night we spent together, for one…before you ran away from me…from us. I can't wait to do it again. Maybe the next time we spend the night together, you'll give me the chance to kiss you good morning."
The instant heat that burned her cheeks raced a trail through her and she couldn't look away. "Jason, you have other things you should be focusing on right now…what may, or may not be happening between you and me can wait, don't you think?"
"No. I think it's waited too long as it is, Sam - and that's my fault. I had my head stuck in the sand when I should have been finding out about my life and why I had you amazing people in it to begin with. I need you and my son to forgive me."
"Forgive you for what?" She couldn't think what he thought he needed forgiving.
"For leaving you that night. For being blind and stupid. For not listening to everything around me that was screaming you are my destiny. For hurting you…again!"
"We hurt each other."
"But this time it was me. I need you and Danny in my life, Sam. I want to put our family back together again…it should've never been broken in the first place - I know that now. Please tell me you want that too?"
The sound of the doorbell saved her from an awkward moment where she was hearing him say something she hadn't even realized she'd been waiting on, but unsure if she was ready to hear it. After breathing out his irritable frustration, Jason opened the door to Dante Falconeri, who stepped over the threshold and looked towards Sam on the couch.
"Morning! Sam, I'm glad to see you're feeling better. Ready to give your statement?"
"About what?"
Dante stopped before Sam then looked at Jason, and back at her again. "Your version of last evening's events. You were kidnapped by Franco Baldwin?"
"Franco? Is that who did this to me? Why?"
"I was hoping you could tell me."
"I can't tell you what I can't remember, Dante. I recall going to the dock to meet a client, taking a seat on a bench, then the next thing I knew, it was the middle of the night and Jason was taking me to GH. It was Franco who did this?"
Dante couldn't keep his gaze from going between the two, who had made stalling the cops an art form over the years.
"What about you?" He asked the silent, stoic man who took up position behind the sofa Sam sat on, his body on guard in protection, his shrug nonchalant to Dante's address.
"You didn't board Franco's boat last night, rescued Sam from him, then blew him to Kingdom come?"
"Nnope!"
"So how did Sam get from the boat, where she was seen boarding with Franco, to the hospital with you not leaving her side?"
"I didn't see who drugged me - I was minding my own business when I felt a prick at my neck. Then I was in my car...if Jason hadn't found me...I could've tried to drive in that condition. He got me to the hospital."
"So somebody drugged you and just left you behind the wheel of your car?" The Detective made certain they knew how incredible they were sounding. "Before either of you dig this hole any deeper - we have a witness who says different…said you left the harbor alone, Morgan, but weren't, when you returned hours later."
"Your witness is mistaken. You should go ask Franco these questions and stop badgering Jason."
"I would, if he hadn't disappeared without a trace."
"Disappeared?"
"Somebody blew him up with the boat he rented for the night - do you know anything about that part?"
"Did you find his body?"
"No. That's the darnest part of this whole thing…the Coast Guard were on the scene minutes after the explosion, they've been searching all morning and yet, not a sign of him."
"Then how do you know anything happened to him? How do you know Franco isn't playing one of his elaborate games and trying to frame Jason in the process? Again! Hasn't he made fools of all of you enough yet?"
"I have a job to do, Sam…and whether it's a law abiding citizen, or a criminal like Franco, I have to follow all leads in a criminal investigation."
"From what you've said, it sounds like Franco had me on some boat, doing God knows what to my drugged body, then he deposited me in my car, where he hoped I'd kill myself or someone else in a crash, before he disappeared again, to watch you all run around in brainless circles. Sounds like classic Franco to me."
That theory was a whitewash and the Detective knew it, but he could also tell that neither would share what it was that they knew. "What were you doing on the water, Morgan?"
Jason shrugged. "It was a nice night. Took the speedboat for a couple laps and came back."
"A couple? Witness placed you on the water for hours. Care to tell me what you were doing?"
"He needs permission from the police to stay on the water as long as he likes?"
Dante could feel them closing ranks even tighter around each other. Some things just never changed. "Look, Sam - I know you've had a rough night. Just come by the station when you're feeling better - we need to record your statement."
"Fine. Though, I don't know what more I'll be able to tell you, since I don't remember anything about the evening."
"You'd be surprised the things the brain captures when you don't know you're even paying attention. Just don't leave town, okay? Either of you!"
When the Detective had gone, Sam shook her head at Jason. "You're losing your touch Morgan. Being seen coming and going like that - what's happened to you?" The light touch of teasing peppered her voice, but soon caught in her throat at his simple, cracked answer.
"I wasn't thinking about anything, but getting to you."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Alexis, thank you for doing this." Lucky Spencer took the chair in front of Alexis Davis' desk and spread his hands, "I know it's probably awkward, so I really appreciate it."
"Why would you say that?"
"Well, Jason is kind of your family, right? I kinda feel like I'm putting you in the middle."
Alexis removed the spectacles and smiled over at the young Spencer. "Honestly, I'm not really sure what Jason is to my daughter these days…those two have a gift for leaving you guessing. But this is not about that…you're concerned about the welfare of your young sons…Sam will understand."
"Are you sure? I want the boys to come live with me at Windermere - that means I'll be enforcing my role as Jakes's father to make that happen. Jason and Sam could take that the wrong way."
"Do you really believe your children are being neglected?"
Lucky squirmed uncomfortably. "Neglected is a strong word. They are cared well by Audrey - as well as can be expected for a person at her age to constantly watch three rambunctious boys…and their mother wouldn't knowingly hurt them. But I do believe they need the kind of attention and security they're not getting."
"So you believe they'll be better off with you, at a temporary home? You'll be uprooting them, taking them away from their mother - are you prepared for that fallout?"
"I'm prepared to do whatever my boys need."
"Okay, then. You should be aware that your absence from their lives will be called into question. Elizabeth can bring a very strong argument that you haven't been there and that your interest is fleeting and temporary. You will need to be prepared to show permanence and stability for them and for yourself. You need to show a means to support them, to provide for their daily care. Temporary habitation at your brother's won't cut it."
Lucky nodded at everything she said. "I know - I was anticipating all that. I have contractors fixing up my family's home, getting it ready for us, so we won't be at Windermere for long. The years away have been good to me - I can provide very well for my children."
"Okay, good. You will need to back all that up before the court will take your claim seriously. Now, as far as Jake Spencer goes, you have a legal right to him that Jason doesn't. You are listed as the father on his birth certificate, and you are the father who's claimed him since birth. Any contest to that will take time to prove, and although your absence does hurt your case, you have certain undeniable rights that will work in your favor. The fact that the boys are unhappy at home - the fact that they don't actually spend much time with their mother - you stand a very good chance of getting custody."
Lucky sighed at the words he'd been longing to hear. He knew he was in for a fight but as long as he knew he stood a real chance of giving this boys the home and stability they needed, he could face anything. He wasn't looking forward to the fight with Jason Morgan…he'd heard what a good father he'd been since his return…but he couldn't concern himself with that, over what was good for his family. What they needed full-time, mattered so much more.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam. It had been years since the last time he saw her and yet, she looked exactly the same...petite, gorgeously stacked, and full of life.
"Hey, beautiful!"
Sam smiled warmly at the familiar voice that she hadn't heard in a long, long time, not needing to turn around to know he was smiling warmly at her.
"Hello, Spencer!" His handsome face appeared when he moved in front of her and grabbed her hand off the table to pull her up and into a warm hug.
"How is it that you haven't aged a day from the day we met?"
Sam eased to arms length and squeezed the hand holding hers tightly. "You tell me - I could say the same about you. Foreign lands have been treating you well I see?"
They had drifted apart over the years, even before he'd left town. Though the breakup was amicable and they remained friendly, it was never the same after Sam realized the man would forever carry a torch for the woman he proclaimed to no longer love, who'd ripped his heart from the socket much like Jason had done to hers, but who seemed destined to forever be her slave, like Jason. They'd drifted even further when she'd gotten back with Jason and after Franco unleashed his special brand of craziness on their lives. There was that ugly period where Lucky had actually said, Jason should've gone after his sister instead of Sam when they'd both been kidnapped by the madman, and although she'd forgiven the angry outburst as adrenalin-driven fear for his sister, he'd repeated his hurtful words when he inferred she should also fall behind the nurse in line to be rescued. Lucky for Lucky, Sam Morgan wasn't one to carry a grudge against friends. He'd been good to her once, so she'd lain bygones aside a long time ago.
By the time Jason showed up for his meeting with Lucky, Sam was on a second round of vodka, sharing a few laughs about the years that had elapsed without their lives crossing. After an initially tense greeting that passed between the two men, Sam quickly left them to their discussion, knowing they stood a better chance of talking openly and resolving the custody issue, one on one. She'd also seen the iciness that entered the bar behind unsmiling blue eyes and she wanted to be out of range. Waving goodbye, she left them to it.
"He's my son."
"Biologically. In every other way that counts…he's my son!"
Sam was wrong. Jason looked at the man who'd had papers served on Elizabeth the week before, suing for custody of all three of her children, and he wished she'd been right in this case. He knew meeting the man who he could barely remember, would serve no purpose, and when he showed up to find him cozily snugged up to Sam at the MetroCourt lounge, it only left him with an even lesser opinion of him. He'd been right about that - he obviously harbored feelings for her that he was hoping would lead somewhere. Jason hadn't felt like dealing with him at all after realizing that.
"You haven't been around. You haven't seen how things are different now. I'm in my son't life and it's going to stay that way."
Lucky took a sip of club soda and rested the glass on the bar, avoiding eye contact with the man who'd almost blown a gasket when he walked in on him having a drink with Sam earlier. He'd known Jason Morgan a long time and had never known him to be possessive or jealous, but those flares from his nostrils had been unmistakable. He was still flaring now.
"I'm not stopping you from seeing Jake, Jason. That would not benefit my son…but he's coming to live with me, where he belongs. I'm his father."
Jason spun the glass of scotch between his hands, his eyes following the single cube of ice as it swirled through the dark liquid.
"He doesn't need to be confused, when you're just going to pick up in a few weeks and take off again. Nobody is taking my son away from me."
"Is this even really about Jake…or are you just bent out of shape about what you saw earlier?"
This time Jason did spare the man a glare, his inference to the cozy scene from earlier, doing nothing to sway Jason's desire to punch him in the face.
"Leave Sam out of this."
"Can you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you hated that Sam and I were involved before and you hate that we're friends now."
"I don't tell Sam who to be friends with and she doesn't need my permission for anything she does. You will be wise to leave her out of this - I won't tell you again."
Lucky smiled behind the glass he raised to his lips. It was always so easy to get Jason Morgan riled up about the sassy PI. Some things just never changed. Just like it hadn't changed how good she looked, how funny she was, and how natural it was being with her.
"We always had a great time together and from what I understand, she's single again." He looked at the tightening of the man's jaw and couldn't help the little jab. "So am I."
Jason knew by the way his teeth were grinding together that he needed to leave. Right then. Last thing he needed was to go into a custody battle with charges garnered from killing his son's other dad. Standing up from the stool, he walked away without saying another word.
