A.N. If you like what you are reading, I would love to know your thoughts, replies are always welcomed and mean ever so much to me.

Chapter Fifty

Sam climbed the stairs, a noise had drawn her attention to the upper floor, not bothering to think about anything, she followed her feet, when she reached the top of the stairs she saw something that looked hideous. Her mother with her face glued to that hostage-taking murder Mr. James Craig.

It was enough to completely unhinge the precarious hold she had on her mind, insanity slipped quickly in, taking over for whatever had passed for sanity. "What in the world do you think you are doing Alexis? You are getting busy with that low life, do you have no morals?"

Alexis turned quickly, shocked at her daughter's appearance, but more shocked at the gun that was in her hand. It wasn't like she had planned for anything to happen with this man, but he was Jax's brother and with Ric gone, she could finally concentrate on surviving the cancer and perhaps moving on with her life. She understood the terrible things Jerry had done as Craig, but he had been nothing but kind to he and she longed for someone to give back her will to live.

"Sam, you don't know what you are talking about, come, let's go talk about this, I think you will understand once we talk." Alexis said, hoping and praying that she could make her daughter see what she needed her to see.

"You think I care what you have to say! You parade around acting all perfect, but you like the bad boys, you can't get enough of them, first it was Sonny and then Ric and now this murdering animal, you just keep sinking lower and lower. You make me sick." Sam shouted, her dark orbs flashing with malice and a malevolence unseen by many.

"Sam, giving me a break, you are not one to take the morally high ground, you use men for your own desires and when they have provided what it is you need, you toss them away. Don't think you can get high and mighty with me, take your mistakes and admit what you have done, you are in a precarious position because you made it that way." Alexis said, spurred on, not able to take the snide way she looked at her.

Alexis moved closer to her, her eyes flashing with the well known Cassadine anger. Sam could flap her gums all she wanted, but one thing she needed to remember, Alexis was a Cassadine and did not and would not stand for this blatant disregard for her parental rights. Alexis may not have used her power as a Cassadine as much as Helena or Stefan, but that didn't mean she had forgotten her lineage.

Sam stood her ground, she had not manipulated so many men, just to turn tail and run when things got rough. Sure she left when things got abundantly tougher, like when she switched her name after she murdered her husband, but she had stuck around long enough to get what she wanted. The guns weight gave her the strength to stand strong, but she understood the time to use it had long since passed.

Still there was no sanity to be seen in those dark orbs, perhaps everything had finally accumulated to a pressing degree leaving her unable to think or feel. Whatever the reasoning, Sam stood tall, not an ounce of fear showing.

Alexis saw Sam pull her shoulders back and saw the steel like straightness of her spine, for once the girl was trying to look the part of a Cassadine, but the sad truth she was coming to see. Sam would never be an integral part of the family, she was weak and pathetic, even though the girl knew how to get her way once in awhile, she didn't have the right stuff to be a true Cassadine heir.

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Lucky tried to recover quickly from his apparent shock, so in a brusque voice he asked, "What do you two want?" All the while his heart was breaking, he could see the connection that these two shared, it was defined in every move and gesture.

"Quit playing the victim Lucky, I don't know if you were directly connected with Mateo or not, and really I don't care, what's done is done. But I need you to understand something, there is no going back, I have tried to protect you, I tried to love you. But you make it almost impossible to understand anything you do, and to be completely honest, I no longer care." Liz said, taking a moment to place her thoughts in order. This was the last time she was going to have dealings with Lucky, or so she hoped, so everything needed to be out in the open.

"Lucky, you were such a wonderful boy, but you lost that. You had a choice to fight after you came back, but I think you enjoyed playing the victim and being the one who needed to be taken care of, whatever the reason, you used and abused those who cared about you. Now when you are really in trouble, you are alone. I loved that boy, I really did and would have done anything for you, but when you came back, you did everything you could to play on everyone's emotions. You are a man Lucky, start acting like one." Liz finished, there was still so much she wanted to say, but was at the moment, incapable of doing so.

Lucky was about to speak but Jason cut him off before he could even mumble his first word.

"No you don't get to talk right now, you need to listen. Because of you Liz was hospitalized, she almost died because you had some sick twisted urge to see her away from me. I too, don't really care what your reasons were behind that idiocy, but you did it, one way or another, and now you need to pay. I hope they lock you away and throw away the key. You don't deserve Elizabeth, you never did, because you don't understand what it is to love a woman more than yourself, where you would sacrifice everything just to see her happy. You are a weak man and deserve whatever you get. I want you to understand one thing, you will never come near Elizabeth or our children, to you they are lost." Jason said, each word inflicted with a undertone of anger and disgust.

"What, you two off and get married and now you are all righteous, please, I may have done some stupid things, but I never consciously murdered anyone because I was told to and I was a police officer. You are a ruthless killer who finds a perverse joy in taking orders." Lucky said, his words unable to inflict the anger or hostility he had hoped.

He was angry and hurt by both of their words, but more disgusted with the truth that laid within their statements.

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Jerry looked at the two women, unable to see the connection. He had seen Sam's spunky behavior in the hotel, but this thing that stood at the top of the stairs wasn't spunky or passionate, she was devoid of life, like a walking corpse.

Before anyone could react, Sam's hand flashed out, connecting squarely with Alexis's face, the older woman's face rocked back from the force of the blow. A small trickle of blood slipped down from her split lip, adding a darker hue to her already dark maroon lipstick.

The patience left Alexis's eyes, almost as if it had never been there. "That is the last time you will do that."

"You think I am scared of you, this is all your fault. I would have been the one carrying Jason's child, I would have borne him a son, and it would have been me he had wed today, but instead, my so called mother had to stick her nose in my business and ruin the only good thing in my life. You deserve so much more than a simple slap, but that will have to be enough for right now. You can continue your downward spiral on your own, some way and somehow, I am going to get Jason back, no thanks to you and Elizabeth will be a bad memory soon enough." Sam spat at Alexis, her words dripping in hatred.

Alexis didn't think, she just acted on impulse, her hand came up and on its own accord connected with Sam's face, the girls shocked expression was the first thing to register with Alexis, then next was the piercing scream that reverberated throughout the large house.

Jerry tried to act in haste, as soon as he saw Alexis's hand whip out, he was on the move, he could see what was going to happen and wanted to prevent it from happening. There was something special about this woman and for some reason he wanted to prevent her from having to suffer. Unfortunately he was not quick enough, Sam's body had been rocked hard enough, that she fell back a step, except when she stepped back, there was nothing for her foot to rest upon.

Alexis came out of her daze as she saw her daughter falling almost in slow motion, her screams suddenly stopped and the undisturbed silence that followed was eerily disconcerting.

Jerry was quick to grab his cell phone and call for an ambulance, whether it was needed or not, he understood Alexis would not take anything at face value, it was one of her qualities that he truly liked.

He could see Sam's body at the foot of the stairs, her body was twisted at an unnatural angle. Anticipating Alexis's next moves, he wrapped his arms around her body, hoping to prevent her from discovering the fate of her daughter either way, and as far as he was concerned, it didn't look good.

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Mac was waiting in his office for the newly married couple to leave and was about to end the conversation whether it was done or not, when a call came in. It was not something he wanted to deal with now, but it was his job, so he was on his way to Wyndemere.

It took him twenty minutes to get to the house on the island, but as he walked into the house, he could tell the medics had already done everything they could. Now his job kicked in and he would have to find out all the details, although he was quite sure he already knew what happened.

He did live in Port Charles so he had heard many things that went around his city and one of them was the troubles Alexis and Sam always had. It had seemed like things were getting better, but animosity was a hard thing to disregard unless it was truly and completely let go.

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Liz was lost for words, she knew and understood Jason loved her, but when he vocally proclaimed it, it brought home the love and the feelings behind it with an astounding completeness, she would never grow tired of hearing his declarations of love, just as she would never grow tired of telling him how much she loved him.

Lucky could see the changes in Elizabeth, and whether he wanted to admit it or not, he could see the self-assurance that radiated off of Liz, the quick easy smile that bloomed on her face, and the devotion that shone in her eyes.

He didn't want to believe that he had never given her that kind of acceptance or the easy with which she smiled, but it was very evident and another piece of his heart broke. What Jason said was true, he didn't deserve Elizabeth, perhaps he never had and that too hurt his heart. Because it was very evident, he was not the better man, the better man stood with the love of his life.

"I hope you to find much happiness, perhaps you won't believe that I want nothing but happiness for you, but I understand now, it's you Jason, it always has been. Elizabeth needed a white knight, someone who was going to love her and guard her heart. All I ask is that you devote your life to her happiness, because she deserves it." Lucky said, his tears no longer capable of being held back, flowed down his cheeks, but instead of being ashamed, he allowed them to do what they were intended for, they cleansed his soul to some degree, now all he had to do was find the memories that pertained to Mateo Ruiz.

Jason and Liz looked at one another, both shocked by the seemingly grown-up attitude of a man they had both cared about. Lucky had scorned them both, and what had been done was now of the past. But both understood, he would not be welcome in their life, they needed to move on.

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After taking the statements of those at Wyndemere, Mac finally made his way back to the station, he had wanted to stop at Jakes and have a few dozen drinks, but he had to go back, to many things needed to be resolved. And he was the one who everyone was looking to, to resolve it all, even if he didn't have all the answers.

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The three in the small room had fallen silent, there was still things that needed to be said, but at that moment, they were taking their time, trying to collect and arrange those thoughts.

Before they had a chance to recommence the conversation, Mac walked in, he looked exhausted and as though he had aged twenty years in the time they had been inside the room.

Three expectant eyes turned to watch him. When he didn't offer up a reason for the disturbance, Jason took it upon himself to ask the question that seemed to weight heavy on the older man. "Mac, what is it, you obviously didn't come in here because we were taking a long time, so please cut the silent act and spill what you need to say."

Mac looked at Jason, knowing he could not put it off any longer. "I suppose I should separate you and tell you individually, but seeing as how this pertains to both of you, I might as well save my breath and do this here." Of course he had heard the news about the question of the paternity, but of course that no longer posed a problem, the child in question had not been spared and nor had its mother.

"I was called away a little while ago, there had been an accident at Wyndemere, we don't really know all the details as of yet, but I am truly sorry to be the one to tell you this. Sam had gone to Wyndemere, with what looks like the intentions of killing Alexis, whatever the reason an argument ensued and slaps were traded, Sam was standing to close to the stairs and slipped, she died before she even reached the bottom. I know you two were interested in finding out who the father of her baby was and rest assured, an answer will be had, but not with a happy ending, I am sorry." Mac said, he had said enough for the time being, he would speak at further length with both men later.

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