A secluded, abandoned warehouse was the last place Sam wanted to be, given the mood she was in, and with company that was shit to boot! She could hear the sounds of a docking boat but knew the crew couldn't see her from that vantage point by the water. She was on her own. A quick sizing up gleaned the creep to be a good two feet taller than she was with about seventy pounds on her…but she'd beaten worse odds.

He was fast, cursing at her some more when he lunged to grab her by the arm and shove her hard up against the wall, where her back sounded out the force of the hit. Momentarily stunned, Sam swiftly recovered to scope the best point of contact, drawing from every self defense move she'd ever learned, deciding on a side step that would put her on the outside of where he grabbed her arm, and spinning to aim for the eyes with jutting fingers - but he was expecting it, quickly gripping her wrist to pull her back into a vice hold.

"I have suppen for you, you little bitch!"

A rough hand groped and tore at her breasts when he shoved against her at the wall, one leg cramming between hers to spread them to his command while he grappled with the waist of her jeans.

Sam knew all she needed to do was whistle for Captain and whisper those two little words…but she needed to hit…might as well be the asshole who thought he had the right to manhandle women.

Sounding from deep within her, using the burning rage she was already feeling, she screamed out the energy that shoved his weight off her enough to get the room she needed to lift her right leg and stomp down hard, the six inch boot heel not missing the targeted foot to render her assailant distracted enough for Sam to use his howl of pain to her advantage, breaking quickly from his arms and putting all her strength behind a mighty kick to his knee. He stumbled in a hobble but didn't go down, grabbing hold of her again to grip her body tight against him, but she'd had enough of that! Quickly pushing the long sleeve black shirt back from the arm clasped across her chest, Sam bit down with all her might, instantly using his relaxing of the arm to free her right hand and send two spread fingers up and behind her head to jab at his eyeballs, using his pained distraction to break out of his reach, turning to kick him once again in the same exact spot her foot had landed before, knowing the soreness would be compounded to send him down this time.

Just as she expected, he went down howling. Keeping her pace to hook her thumbs and bring both hands with fingers in a straight, tight line, she swept in to crash the sides of his throat in a quick, painful slice, grimacing angrily when he landed on his knees before her, giving her perfect angling to heave back and send her foot in a direct kick to his groin, the contacting pain eliciting a strangled sound as he went completely down on one side, both hands covering damaged jewels where he curled in a fetal heap.

The sound of scampering paws and a threatening growl brought Captain to her side and in a snap, teeth bared to go clamping for the writhing man's throat.

"Captain, heel!"

Stepping closer as he obeyed her command and moved to shift at her leg, Sam stroked his head and scratched his ears, "Good boy," her eyes staying locked on the man on the ground, who was in too much pain to care when she knelt next to him and roughly snatched the hood from his face.

"Ian?" Rendered speechless for a minute, Sam stared in shock at the familiar face she would have never expected. The annoying but gentle, seemingly harmless photographer had never given her any reason to feel threatened by him! "Are you fucking serious? You…!" Chafing once again from people only pretending for another's benefit, Sam rose to her feet and sent one swinging into his chest. "SON-OF-A-BBITCH!" A second kick followed for good measure. "And what happened to your accent, huh?"

Captain's snarl reached her ears when hurrying footsteps sounded behind them, bringing Sam to look towards the end of the alley, expecting maybe an accomplice to her assault, only to stop sharp, rendered motionless, her eyes bulging with the simultaneous instant racing of her pulse and ceasing of her breathing. Eyes that locked hers riveted where he became instantly still, his own breathing appearing labored when neither seemed to remember how to move.

A fogged minute later, Sam still could not look away. How could this be? Who could this be - the picture before her certainly wasn't…couldn't…impossible!

But that build…riveting blue eyes that bore through her as always, his sandy blond hair cropped low the way he preferred it, the signature leather jacket hugging broad shoulders like it was tailored to fit…he was staring at her, struck just as speechless and as shocked at her visage! A full minute crept by without a sound, until…

"Sam!"

His voice was soft and filled with wonder, the same seductive timber that had caressed her ears in wake and in sleep for so long. YES - that had to be it…she had to be asleep and dreaming!

She hadn't moved, couldn't move. Her eyes were playing some silly trick, shaping some stranger into a form they knew by the inch, bringing the impossible to life…but he was speaking again - she noticed he regained the use of his feet and took tentative steps closer, where the form she had to be dreaming took even more distinct shape.

"Sam…"

The sound of her name repeated in familiarity confused her more, 'til she realized what was happening and chuckled out loud. Of course! That's it…she was dreaming! She was still asleep and none of the morning had actually happened! She was still in his arms in the middle of their secluded woods, having the weirdest dream, where something that changed the course of their lives and caused all that pain wasn't turning out to be just someone's spitefully manufactured lie - where someone she knew hadn't just tried to rape her in an alley - where the man she loved wasn't standing before her…looking exactly like he did the night he left their bed and their home to disappear into the black, cold waters of the harbor! She was dreaming it all!

When Captain's threatening growl kept sounding at her side, Sam looked down to where he restlessly moved, back to the man still taking careful steps to get closer, and she had the distinct urge to reach out and pinch herself awake.

"Sam...it's me."

Her head started shaking and her eyes were staring, her heart thumping lightning fast.

"It can't be! You're…" blue eyes now closer, showed soft and filled with that thing she'd always found there…that warm welcome and enamored pleasure at the mere sight of her that always lived in their depths. "You're…! It's impossible!"

"It's me." He released the strap of the gunnysack he'd been holding over one shoulder to allow it to fall, slowly bringing both hands to stretch out in front of him, "I'm really sorry to just spring up on you like this - I wanted to come to you differently, but I heard noises and then…" his hands withdrew to his sides and his eyes warmed even more, "…well, here you are." The softest sigh escaped his lips on the release of the whispered word, "Hi."

"Who the hell are you? What do you want?" She really was awake! This was really happening…it had all happened…people were creeps who looked out for self and to hell with everyone else…and here was another now, trying to use the form of a remarkable love to gain advantage! "Where did you come from?"

Gesturing behind him, he spoke slowly when he still had trouble forming the words. "We just docked - from Antigua."

He was lying. Eyes that roved his face and arms found no tan telling a tale of one just arriving from the sunny Caribbean.

"Really?"

Picking up the dripping skepticism, he couldn't help but smile…those senses were as keen as he remembered. "Yes, that's where the ship from Brussels dropped anchor. I was able to get on this one to New York in just a couple hours after we got there. Pure luck."

"I see. And you were in Brussels because…?"

"It's a long story - one I'm looking forward to telling you all about - it's just so damn good to see you right now - I can hardly catch my breath!"

Movement from the corner of her eye caught the man forgotten on the ground, trying to stand to his feet, hopeful in using her distraction to sneak towards the back of the warehouse.

"Where do you think you're going?" She caught his attention and he halted in stride before turning back to glare at her in the hate being equally returned. "Unless you plan on taking yourself to the police station, I suggest you sit your rapist ass down to wait for your escort."

"Rapist?" The angering tone whipped Sam's attention to where she'd momentarily forgotten to expect the sight she'd see. The gunnysack hit the ground as he took menacing steps towards Ian. "He touched you?"

"Hey!" The snapping sound of her own voice stopped the con in his tracks to bring his gaze back to her. "I don't need rescuing!" Sam glared while she swiped the phone from her back pocket.

He couldn't stop the force of the emotions still rearing through him at the long awaited, ardently prayed for sight of her again, beautiful and fierce in all her glory. He'd missed her every second he'd been gone, but had no idea exactly how much, until her sudden image before him had stricken like a deafening thunderbolt and robbed all oxygen from his body. "You never did."

There it was again - that familiarity that ebbed a touch of truth. Turning her back to blot the distracting sight that had brought the permanently burned memory to the forefront of her mind, Sam looked at the crumbling photographer before her. "You disappoint me, Ian. You really do!"

"You know him?"

Ignoring the question that was simultaneous with Ian's plea, "You don't need to involve the police, Samantha - I wasn't going to hurt you," Sam waited for the call to connect.

"Right…that's what the stocking cap, the lonely alley, all that rough shit, clearly says."

"I had to get your attention - get you alone. You've ignored me since day one, and your friend said you'd only notice me if I took charge this way. She said that a woman of action like you, only responded to a bold move - that this is the sort of thing you like. She said it was the only way you'd take me seriously…I wasn't trying to hurt you."

"I was never afraid that you could. As you can see, I can take care of myself - and no friend of mine would ever give you some asinine advice like that, which you're a turd for taking, by the way!" When the Desk Sergeant picked up, Sam reported the incident and requested a squad car, then turned her attention back to the stranger who'd been riveted on her the whole time. "And what's your angle, huh? Why are you showing up here like this? Who the hell are you?"

"You know who I am, Sam."

The way he said her name, so familiar, so coated in loving admiration of one who knew her. Her mind was going back and forth between real and impossible and deep down she knew the truth…but her eyes…what they told her mind was surely a lie?

"WRONG - I have no idea who you are - so how about you tell me what it is you want?"

The sound of sirens drew all attention to the arrival of two of PC's finest, who got busy taking the injured photographer into custody and Sam's statement of the day's events. When she looked to point out the stranger who could give a witness account to the officer, she was surprised to find the man nowhere in sight.

"Where did he go?"

"Where did who go?" The officer looked quizzically behind him then back at her.

"That man - the one who was standing right there!" Pointing to the spot, Sam looked at him keenly. "you saw him, right? He was right there when you drove up."

"I didn't see anyone, Mrs. Morgan. Somebody else saw what happened?"

"YES! The man who looks just like…"

"Who? Who did he look like?"

Cocking her head in stark wonder, Sam thought for a moment that maybe she'd imagined him. Maybe her mind had conjured him in a moment when he was forefront in her thoughts…but she knew that wasn't true. He'd been there. He'd vanished when the police arrived because much like someone else she knew very well, he had absolutely no use for them. Just like…

"No one. I don't know who he was - he must've taken off when he saw I had things under control. It's fine - if we're done here, I'd really like to get back to my son."

"We're done for now. We'll be in touch."

With Captain in tow, Sam made her way back down the dock to her SUV, her mind racing the whole time in attempt to decipher the day. They were in an alley - where the hell could he have gone? She was no longer wondering if she'd seen him - she knew damn well she had! Who he was, bothered her so much more. She knew who he wanted her to believe he was - but to what end? Where had he come from?

She drove almost absently back to her mother's house - her mind filled with so much more than the desperate liar she'd hunted for hours, the peppered confrontation she'd sought, dying like the weak little whimper the nurse was in reality. She now had a huge problem unfolding - one she'd never expected in a million years and one she realized she needed to get out in front of quickly. Someone was on a mission to cause a real collision in their lives.

She was back at her mother's but didn't feel like going in, so she rounded the corner to the backyard, taking a seat on the bench facing the lake. It was peaceful and calm with the afternoon sun glistening off the water.

"I've been calling you."

Startled to find she wasn't alone, Sam's head jerked to the sound of his voice coming from the direction of the oak to her right, to find him seated at its base, his back and head resting to its trunk as though in dire need of its contact and support. Eyes that drank in the sight of him caught the haunting behind his own that bore through her, their pain painting the anguish he was feeling. She didn't move, struck momentarily speechless when she wondered which to tackle first - his explosion from the horrible news, the torture he was so obviously in, or the unbelievable appearance of a body double.

"I'm sorry."

The soft sound of his voice took the decision from her, when his apology sounded the pain behind his eyes. Making her way over to where he sat, Sam knelt to her knees before him, before dropping to a seat, bringing her knees up to hug them to her torso.

"What are you sorry for?" Her eyes bore through his as they connected in that way that was theirs alone.

"For what I said…for leaving like that. For every second I ever spent away from you."

The silent minute that passed between them was full. Blue eyes locked brown and when they bared the soul of the man she loved with every fiber of everything that was her, she knew she wasn't wrong. This is him! His face might be different, some traits might have adjusted, but she knew these eyes…more so, she knew the soul that lived behind the eyes of the man that touched her at her core everytime they bore through her. This was the love of her life!

"Are you okay?" The soft question left her even as she knew he wasn't. How could he be?

The tiny nod of his head was a lie for her benefit.

"She lied, Sam. All this time - she's been lying."

Allowing her eyes to drift to the ground, Sam quickly hid the anger that sprung up at the mention of the woman that once again boiled her blood.

"You're always so surprised when she does, even though she's made it an art form. It's funny how you expect it from me and Carly but are always so shocked when it's her...again!"

He could see the minute she said it she'd wanted to take it back, but he wouldn't let her.

"You're right. I've been unfair to you so many times…I'm sorry, Sam."

Sighing, Sam reigned in the petty before it took hold. "You don't need to apologize. I didn't mean to make it about me - it just pisses me off how she gets the benefit of the doubt all the time when it's so obviously misplaced! I want to fucking strangle her for doing this to you!"

"She did it to us!"

His voice had gone soft again and the pain behind his blue eyes had multiplied when Sam raised her head to see…the apology swimming in them for so much more than just today.

"I wish I could take the pain away. I wish I could make it all not true for you." He loved that little boy with everything in him - anyone who'd spent five minute with them could see it. That he had to go through the pain of losing him once again was something she'd take away in an instant if she could. He was losing his son for a third damn time!

"You didn't do anything." Reaching an arm out to brush the errant hair from her face, Jason traced her cheek with the back of his fingers, to fold them beneath her chin, lifting it slightly to draw her eyes once again. "Of all the pain I've caused you - and there's been a lot - that whole, entire year was the worst. You deserved so much better from me…I don't know how you ever forgave me that. Now to find out what I put you through was based on a lie?"

When he still held her chin, Sam's eyes fell to the ground to break her gaze away. "I wasn't a saint that year either, remember? I'd take a lot of it back too, if I could!"

"We both would." The slight tug to lift her chin where he held her brought her eyes back up to his. "I need you to know it was always about Jake. I had to protect him."

"I know."

He couldn't look away from her face, tracing his thumb on the outside of her lower lip that quivered at his touch. She was so beautiful. He couldn't remember a time since they met she hadn't dragged through the trenches right next to him to cheer him on. That he could've ever allowed his life to touch, much less hurt her as it had, appalled him anew.

"Do you? Because I need to make sure that you know I've never wanted…" His eyes followed the thumb that traveled her soft lip to idle at the corner of paradise, "…needed," then slipped between it's guided parting to glide slowly across the surface as he moved his head closer, their irresistible pull bringing him in descent, "…loved anyone, like I love you."

Colliding desperately in a crush for thirst quenching contact with her, his lips pulled her in as his arms encircled to claim the rest of her. She was always home for him. When he ached, she soothed him. When he cried, she comforted him. When he was lost, she found him. When he was happy she was at the center of it…and when nothing else made sense or went right, the one true thing in this universe that never changed was she was his and he was hers.

A/N: Fair warning guys...this will not be a mirror of what's happening on the show. Not particularly a fan of the twin storyline, especially seeing what it's done to JaSam's history and deep connection, so I won't even try to put my spin on it. I enjoy both pairings, as they each have traits I love about the couple, but real damage has been done to both. Love watching Dream together, and knowing they were JaSam just cinched it for me. Now that they've been torn down, I'm still stuck in soap jail, wanting Dream back but also wanting JaSam too...so here, I intend to have them be one and the same. GH writers will take their story in whatever disastrous direction they please, while they continue to screw this iconic couple over...again. There's no undoing what they've done to my JaSam...sigh.