Chapter Nineteen

"What are you doing here?"

Placing a hand on her chest, Sam tilted her head to the side as a look of mock hurt crossed her face. "Now, Sonny, is that anyway to welcome me?"

Sonny continued to look through the paperwork on his desk, never once looking up at her. "I'm busy. What do you want?"

"I didn't realize we were on bad terms." She said as she stepped into his living room, taking a seat on his big leather couch.

"We aren't," he murmured as he frowned over a piece of paper she knew had nothing important on it. She rolled her eyes, biting down hard to stop herself from snapping at him. "I know you're here to get information on Jason and, like I told you the last seven times, I'm not going to give you any."

"Sonny, things are different now," she beamed as she stood and made her way over to him and stopped in front of his desk. "You need to congratulate me. I'm pregnant!"

Sighing, Sonny set his papers down, looked up at Sam and pierced her with his gaze. She felt her smile slip a little at his narrowed eyes but quickly recovered. "I heard," he nodded. "What I want to know is who the father is."

Sam felt her heartbeat quicken. She was really starting to hate Sonny and his high and mighty attitude. Lifting her eyebrows, Sam tilted her hip to the side and crossed her arms over her chest. "You know who the father is."

"No," he said slowly, "I don't."

"You know what Sonny, I don't need this. Just tell me where Jason is."

Making a great deal of shoving his chair back slowly, Sonny stood, leaning his hands against his desk. "Give Jason some space. When he's ready to talk to you, he'll come to you."

Feeling her temper rise, Sam snapped. "Jason needs to be with me," she emphasized. "I'm going to have his baby which means we'll be a family. You know if Jason could remember he would want to be with me every step of the way.

"Jason would move heaven and earth for his child, hell, any child. Look at what he did for our daughter, Sonny."

"Don't," he whispered, "bring our daughter into this."

"You remember what it was like for Jason. He loved her even though he wasn't the real father. He's just confused right now and he needs both of us."

Sam knew she was grasping at straws but she needed Sonny on her side. For some reason, Jason reconnected with Sonny and she was pretty sure he trusted the older man. If she could just get Sonny to agree with her, then he could talk some sense into Jason. All she needed was some time to show him how much he loved her.

And this baby was going to be the perfect start.

Yanking off his suit jacket, followed by the tie, Jason stepped out of his SUV and made his way up the walkway to Sonny's house. He had been on his way home from the memorial service when Sonny had called. He made it sound urgent so Jason had turned his car around.

Unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt, Jason stepped inside after Milo opened the door for him.

Nodding once, Jason walked to the closed doors of Sonny's living room and paused. He could hear raised voices and tried to decipher who was with Sonny but couldn't recognize the voice.

It sounded familiar, a woman's voice, but he couldn't think of whom it might be. He knew it wasn't Carly since Sonny had finally broken down and brought the woman to Rose Lawn.

Shrugging, Jason placed his hands on the doorknob and entered, stopping once he saw who Sonny was with.

His eyes narrowed as Sonny turned and looked at him with regret. Feeling a sense of betrayal, Jason shook his head and turned around.

"Jason," both occupants of the living room called out to him.

Stopping but not turning around, Jason clenched his fists at his sides and waited.

"I'm so glad you're here." He heard Sam say in a breathy voice.

"Jason, man, I didn't…She wasn't here when I called you."

Unclenching his fists, Jason turned around, looking Sonny in the eyes. He didn't know why, but Jason believed him. He was beginning to trust Sonny a lot more, being able to talk to him at times when he wasn't able to say what he wanted to say to Elizabeth. Sonny was one of his only friends right now and he would hate it if he couldn't trust the man because of Sam.

"Well, it's a good thing I am here. We need to talk."

"Is the baby ok?" he asked almost automatically.

Sam smiled what Jason figured was no doubt her best smile. He really hated it when people tried to play him. "The baby's fine. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Ok," he said, staying rooted in his spot.

"In private."

Sighing, Jason scrubbed a hand down his face. "I don't have time for this."

Sam stepped forward, tears filling her eyes. "You don't have time for our baby? Our family?"

"Jason," Sonny cut in before he could say anything. "I'll catch up with you later."

A slight tilt of his head showed his appreciation before Jason turned around and walked out of Sonny's living room.

He couldn't understand why he wouldn't give Sam a chance. She was having his baby, she claimed to love him. Maybe it was because she pushed him too much or because he couldn't stop thinking about Elizabeth. Whatever it was, Jason knew he was being hard on her. He couldn't help it. When he was around her he always had the urge to be somewhere else, anywhere else than with her.

He had tried to give her a chance in the beginning but she was too clingy, always around trying to get him to remember. He had needed to get away from her, to find his own space and find out who he really was. Not what other people claimed he was.

He knew he needed to stop trying to avoid her. She was having his baby and they were going to be connected in some way for the rest of their lives. He just needed to make her understand that there wasn't a chance for the two of them to get together romantically.

He wasn't who she wanted him to be; the man who had loved her and lived with her for the past year.

And she wasn't who he wanted.

Elizabeth.

Hearing a pounding at the door, Jason flew out of bed and grabbed for his gun on the nightstand. Frowning when his hand touched nothing, Jason took a step back, scratching his chest. He stayed where he was, staring blankly at the nightstand as the pounding continued at the door.

He didn't have a gun.

Why would he reach for one?

A chill ran down his spine as he squinted at the nightstand, fully awake now. He didn't like that his first instinct was to reach for a gun he didn't have. That wasn't who he was anymore.

Sighing, Jason grabbed a shirt from his dresser and pulled it over his head as he walked the few steps to the door of his apartment above Jakes. His hand paused on the doorknob as he debated with himself on whether or not to open it. Finally, he asked, "Who is it?"

"Sonny."

Letting out a rush of air, Jason unlocked the door and took a step back, letting Sonny enter.

"Sorry to come by so early," Sonny apologized.

As Jason took in his tailored suit and slicked back hair, he couldn't help but wonder why the man dressed up everyday. He had to be uncomfortable; at least Jason was the day before when he wore his only suit to the memorial.

"It's not a problem."

"Good," Sonny nodded, scratching his chin with the side of his thumb. "I've got some information on Elizabeth's accident."

"What did you find out?"

Jason could feel an anxious need build up slowly and then consume his chest. It had been three weeks since Elizabeth accident and for three weeks he could do nothing but think about how badly she was hurt, how she could have died, how her child died.

For three weeks he couldn't shake the feeling that her accident wasn't an accident at all. It just didn't feel right.

"You were right," Sonny said as he dipped his head. "My man looked into the car, searched deeper than the cops and found that someone tampered with the brakes. Someone must have tried to cover their tracks before the cops searched the car, but they didn't a good enough job."

"So someone tried to kill Elizabeth?"

"No, someone tired to kill Lucky."

"She was driving his car," Jason nodded, looking away as he thought. He leaned his back against the door, looking at the floor. "Manny," he whispered, anger building inside of him.

"That's what I was thinking," Sonny sighed. "Lucky shot his brother and Tito is now facing a trial. Manny probably threatened Lucky and when that didn't work…" he trailed off and Jason knew exactly what he meant.

"But Elizabeth got hurt instead."

By the way Sonny straightened Jason knew the other man could hear the anger in his voice. "I'll put a man on him."

"No," he shook his head.

The image of Elizabeth lying on her bed, her face full of scratches, tears falling down her cheeks as she mourned for her baby flashed in his mind. He saw the image of her wincing face as she fell to the ground because her leg gave out on her. He saw her pain, felt her pain, and knew that he couldn't let someone else take care of this.

"No," he whispered, piercing Sonny with a gaze that dared him to question what he was about to say. "I'll do it."