Chapter 21

He couldn't comprehend what he was seeing, he wasn't sure what to think about what all this meant. Could it really be? He was afraid to hope, afraid to feel the smallest ounce of it, the smallest trace of that warmth only to have it be wrong and his world would grow dark again. Was it possible that she got a tattoo without him knowing? Is it possible that he just never noticed? Shaking his head, he immediately put a stop to that thought, of course he knew, he knew everything about her, and he knew for a fact, after having seen her naked a million times, that she did NOT have a tattoo, especially one in the shape of a butterfly. No, his Sam would more than likely sport a tattoo of 9 mm instead. That's who she was, strong, tough and great backup. He took a deep breath, feeling the ease of that simple action, an act so normal that was sometimes taken for granted, he could actually breathe a little easier now. He could feel the tightness in his chest loosen up, just a fraction, but still, he felt… hope. It had always been there, he finally realized, the connection that he could always feel when Sam was with him, it was clouded with the pain and the alcohol, but now having a clear head and seeing the evidence before him, he felt it. He felt the warmth and when he opened his mouth, the words tumbled out in a whisper. "This isn't Sam." There, he said it and meant it with every fiber of his being. Ignoring Carly, he pulled the pictures closer to him, holding them up close to his eyes to study every single detail of the charred body. He was looking for any other indicator to prove that this body was 100% NOT Sam.

"Jason?"

He heard his name being called but he chose not to answer, he wasn't ready to voice his thoughts out yet, not when something so profound scared him, he had to make sure, to chase away any doubt that lingered in the back of his mind. His heart knew but his brain needed to be able to understand. He was now looking at the picture of the body's face, a gruesome sight, so bad that he almost missed it, but he saw it, he saw the one proof that he needed, that 100% that he was striving for…. a small diamond nose stud, so small that would only give the slightest shine when looked upon, the coroner must have missed it. The same kind that Robin used to wear, if he hadn't just talked to her earlier when she called to offer condolences and apologize for her cousin's behavior, he would have thought that the woman in these pictures was her. "This isn't Sam." He said it louder. And again, hope strong and alive in his voice…. "This isn't Sam!" A bold and true statement that had him leaping to his feet to stand above it all, to rise above the darkness that had consumed his soul. And then it came… Relief, such sweet relief washed over him in a tidal wave that almost dropped him down to his knees.

"Jason?" Carly was watching him with worry in her gaze, she was worried about him and it scared her. And she had no idea how to reach him. "Jason… Talk to me. What's going on?" She reached up to touch him, comfort him somehow or bring him back down to reality. She had no idea what he meant. "How is this…" She motioned to the pictures on the table. "…not Sam?"

Instead of answering, he let the picture he was holding fall to her lap as he practically sprinted towards the stairs. "SPINELLI!" He yelled up the stairs, desperate for his friend to come down and work some computer magic for him.

"Wait a minute. Jason, what's going on?" Carly stood up with the picture in hand, she was facing him and in desperate need of information.

Jason paced back and forth, called Spinelli's name again and paced once more. "It's not her. I can't believe I didn't see it."

Carly still didn't understand and was trying to patiently wait for an explanation, patience was so not one of her virtues. And just before she was going to demand for him to explain, Spinelli barreled down the stairs looking wide eyed and just as confused as she was.

"Stonecold?"

Grabbing the young kid by the arm, he practically dragged him over to the couch and forced him down in front of the laptop. "I need you to bring up the video from the airport, right now!" Looking at both of their baffled faces he finally explained. "Sam's alive." He let the words flow with so much joy and so much love he wanted to weep. Seeing that they still needed more, he continued. "The woman in that picture…." He said pointing to the picture in Carly's clenched hands. "…is not Sam. Sam doesn't have a nose piercing." He almost laughed when Carly shoved the picture closer to her face only to have Spinelli snatch it out of her hands to shove it in his own face. After they got their proof, both of them looked up with wide eyes and relief as well. "Oh my God." He heard Carly whisper and cover her mouth to hide her shock. He knew that Carly and Sam were never friends, they may not have liked each other but they did care for one other, just a little bit. He could still remember each fight that they had, they had gone against each other with no holds barred, with Sam usually the victor. Despite the feelings that were warring within him at that moment, he felt his lips curve up into a small smile just thinking about his fiery brunette fighting his best friend.

It was Spinelli's question that brought him back to the task at hand. "How could this be?"

"I think that Aidan has her. I think that that bastard switched Sam with this person and brought them to the air field. Come on Spinelli, I need you to look up that night, from all angles, I need you to make sure that you have the perfect view of Aidan." Jason stood back and watched Spinelli's fingers fly on the keyboard, he was once again thankful for his young friend. A few minutes later a few pictures came on the screen. "Play that one." Jason said as he pointed to the view that was facing the plane head on with the stairs of the plane on the right, directly behind where the Balkan and his men stood. All three stood back on bated breath and watched the events of that horrific night play out. He watched as the cars arrived one by one, until that last one, the SUV that Aidan was driving pulled up. They watched as the smug bastard got out and walked towards the back of the truck. Jason clenched his fists as the overwhelming urge to find the guy that stole Sam and squeeze the life out of him consumed him. He held his breath as he watched Aidan grab the woman from the back seat with her head covered. "He hid her face. That's how he got away with it. We thought that was Sam but it wasn't, she was just a decoy." He speared his hands through his hair in frustration. "SON OF A BITCH!" He whirled around and kicked the couch in his anger, causing both Carly and Spinelli to jump.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to reign in the beast that was desperately trying to take over. It wasn't the time to lose control, he needed it now more than ever. "You were right Spinelli. It didn't make sense." He said remembering what he told him when he came home. "He was so desperate to get his hands on her, why would he just give her over. He set this all up. And it happened exactly as planned. He betrayed the Balkan by setting up the plane to explode and made us all believe that Sam was dead while he kidnapped her." Going back to the screen for more answers to keep his anger cooled down, he pointed to Aidan's SUV, something in the back seat caught his eye. "Zoom in as close as you can." Silently he was begging as Spinelli intensified the zoom. He begged to be right, begged God to give Sam back to him… that's when he saw it, her beautiful form. The pixels were not clear enough to show the details, but he knew, he knew that was her, he would bet his life on it. Lying in the backseat of the SUV was the love of his life, Sam. Hearing both the people in the room gasp confirmed his suspicions. That was Sam. She was alive and he needed to get her back.

He sat once again to see the rest of the night unfold on the screen. Soon after the gun fight had already started and Aidan was running back to the SUV, threw it into drive and peeled out with Sam sleeping in the back seat. He watched Spinelli tap a few more keys, another camera picked up the SUV in motion, then another, then another, it was heading east. With every mile Aidan drove, he was taking Sam further and further away from him. Hearing Spinelli curse, Jason questioned him. "What's wrong?" He was looking now at a blank screen.

"The Jackal lost Fair Samantha and the Demented PI. They are nowhere to be found." Spinelli panicked as he was typing away.

Not being able to wait patiently for Spinelli to search the roads, Jason jumped up, he needed to take action. His instincts were screaming for him to get up and do something, anything. He couldn't sit there.

"Wait, Jason where are you going?" Carly jumped up as Jason completely shoved the desk out of the way to be able to open the door fully instead of just small enough for them to get through. She was thankful that Sam was alive, but now she was worried for Jason. Worried Jason makes mistakes, and one tiny mistake could get him killed. She wouldn't survive that.

He regretted destroying the place that held so many memories, but that's ok, he would remodel it, refurnish it and make new ones. As soon as he got Sam back. "I'm going to see Robin at the hospital." He yanked the door open to reveal Max and Milo looking up at him startled. He turned his attention to his two trusted guards. "I need you two stay here with Spinelli. Sam's alive." He held up his hand to stop them from asking him questions, he didn't want to waste anymore time. "Spinelli will explain it all, just make sure that you guys are ready when the time comes." He stepped back as Max and Milo rushed into the penthouse and asked Spinelli question after question. He could hear the relief in their exhales. So many people cared for Sam, and she was taken away from them all.

"Oh no." Carly gasped realizing something.

"What's wrong?" Jason questioned.

"Oh my God Jason, Alexis knows. Sonny told her and the girls about the explosion. They still think that she's dead."

He took a deep breath before he answered. "A part of me doesn't want to say anything until I have Sam back home and safe, but…" He saw the disagreement in Carly's eyes and he understood from a mother's point of view. "But I can't do that to her, or her sisters. Molly and Kristina loved Sam, they looked up to her, I can't let them believe that Sam is dead." He stood for a moment contemplating his predicament. He didn't want to waste any more time by going to the Lake House to speak to Alexis. Looking up at Carly, he just prayed that he was doing the right thing. "I need to get to Robin, I need to talk to her about her cousin, maybe she knows where he is. Spinelli needs to hunt Aidan's truck down, so he has to stay here. That leaves you Carly. I need you to go to Alexis and tell her and the girls that Sam is alive." Seeing her get ready to argue, he spoke up first. "You're the only one who knows how it feels to think you've lost a child. Just tell her how you felt and what you went through. Tell her everything you know and that I'm going to find her daughter and bring her back to us." Without waiting to hear her argument or objections, he ran out the door and down the stairs, not having enough patience to wait for the elevator. He was desperate to get to Sam.

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Twenty minutes later, Jason rushed off the elevators at General Hospital towards the nurse's station. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Robin looking over a chart. He felt bad for her that her own family did this to them, her own cousin. He was sure that she never knew that it was a repeat offense. On the way over to the hospital, Spinelli informed him that after much heavy digging and uncovering, he found out that a similar situation happened before in the city of Pine Valley. He kidnapped a woman, took her away from her family and friends. And when the woman's husband and the cops finally caught up with them, Special Ops stepped in and forced Aidan to return back to the field in exchange for immunity and a cover up. "Robin." Jason waited for her to look up at him with a sad smile. He could see the regret in her eyes, she was the one that called Aidan to come to Port Charles. He wanted to be mad at her, wanted to blame her but he couldn't, this was on Aidan's shoulders alone.

"Jason. I'm so sorry, I never knew Aidan would've done such a thing. And now Sam's gone…."

He could hear the heartbreak in her voice, see the tears cloud her eyes, he didn't want to say anything about Sam being alive yet but he needed Robin's help. "Sam's alive." He cut her off. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Look Robin, I don't have time to explain this, but she's alive and I think that Aidan has her. Spinelli saw them driving east, towards Canada. Can you think of anywhere that Aidan would go, anywhere where he would take her? There's a lot of open road on the way, lots of places for him to go. Can you think of anything, of anyplace that he would hide? Please Robin, I need your help."

She shook her head, giving her a minute to think but nothing came up. "No Jason, honestly I can't think of anything. God, I can't even believe that this is happening. He's my cousin, my family…. I just can't wrap my mind around it."

"Please Robin, just think, is there any house, any cabin, anything you or your family own around here."

"I'm sorry Jason, I don't know. My mother's side of the family is from England, my father from Australia. I don't know where he would've gone. We have nothing around here."

Seeing the tears fall down her face, he felt a pang of disappointment. On the way over, he thought about her maybe lying to cover up for her family, but seeing the look in her eyes, he knew she was telling the truth. She had no idea where Aidan was and Jason felt like he was back where he started from. "Thanks. Can you please, please let me know if he contacts you in anyway, please Robin, I know that he's your cousin but I need to find Sam." Hearing her agree and the sincerity behind it, he said his goodbyes and turned towards the elevators. He felt like he was blocked, but he wouldn't stop, he would never stop until he found Sam. Riding down the elevators, he called Spinelli. When the young kid picked up, Jason spoke before it was answered. "Spinelli. I need you to look up all of Aidan's financial records and freeze them. Freeze everything that he has, his accounts, cards, assets, everything. I need him to feel desperate as I am. And maybe then, he'll make a mistake. And when he does, I'll find him and kill him." He growled out his last words and hung up. Aidan was going to die a very slow and painful death.

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Carly couldn't believe that she was at the Lake House, getting ready to comfort a woman that she almost despised, but as a mother, she felt that it was her duty. Jason was right, if anybody understood what it felt like to think you've lost a child, it was her. Raising her hand, unwilling to drag out the inevitable, she knocked on the door and waited for the other woman to answer. Through the small windows, she saw Alexis walk towards the door and Carly's heart ached. She truly and honestly felt bad for what Alexis and her daughters were going through.

"Carly, now is not really a good time." Alexis was not up to seeing anyone tonight, or for a while, she just wanted her daughters, her remaining surviving daughters. Her heart ached, her soul ached, and her body felt as if it was plunged with a knife. Wiping the tears that would not stop falling, she was getting ready to shut the door only to have it stopped by Carly's hand.

"Wait, Alexis, I need to talk to you."

"Look, I'm in no mood to hear how sorry you are, I've been hearing that over the answering machine all day. Hell, even Ric called me to offer his condolences." She gave an unnatural chuckle just thinking about the message that Ric left her. At least hearing his voice comforted her youngest, Molly missed her sister and just hearing her father's voice helped her some.

"I'm sorry ok, but you need to hear me out…"

Seeing that Carly wasn't swayed just started to piss her off. "I don't need to hear anything you have to say, not you or your good for nothing ex-husband. Just… just…" She took a deep breath and tried to keep her tears back. She didn't want to cry, not now, and especially not in front of Carly. "I just want to be left alone…" Seeing as Carly was about to speak, Alexis spoke up again, barely managing to get the words out. "Please, I just want to be alone right now with my girls and mourn for my daughter."

"That's just the thing, you don't have to…." Carly wasn't sure what to say to get her to listen, desperate for the other woman to hear her out, Carly blurted out what was on the tip of her tongue as Alexis was closing the door in her face. "Sam's not dead!" She winced at how that sounded, almost as a screech and so not sympathetic.

"What?" Alexis stopped door an inch from closing on Carly's face, she wasn't sure if she heard her right.

Figuring this was the best course of action, Carly pushed the door gently and walked into the house, stopping until she was by the couch. Alexis was going to need to sit down for this. Taking a deep breath, Carly knew this was it. "Please come sit…" She sighed when Alexis didn't move a muscle since her outburst. "Ok, can you at least tell me how you feel? Not what you know, or what you think you know, just what's in your heart. What do you feel? Just for a moment, disconnect your head from your heart and tell me what your heart feels."

"Like she's here." No hesitation. She had no idea why Carly was asking her this question, but she felt her lips softly smile at the answer. "I feel like I haven't lost her, like something's missing, I… I don't feel like she gone."

"You know, when I thought I lost Michael, I felt the same. My mind was telling me that he was gone, but my heart… my heart wouldn't listen, wouldn't let go. And then Jason and Sam brought my little boy back to me. I knew he wasn't gone." Carly took a deep breath. "You're right Alexis, she's not gone. Sam's not dead."

"What?" Alexis staggered back at what she heard. Could it really be the truth? There was no way that Carly would be that cruel and lie to her. "No, no, Sonny told me what happened… with the Balkan and the… plane…."

"She wasn't on that plane. It was a look alike." Seeing the shock on the other woman's face, Carly walked over to her, took her hand and led her to the couch. "You need to sit down for this." Then she explained it all from the beginning, she told her everything she knew about the Balkan going after Brenda, about Aidan coming into town and his obsession with Sam, about everything that happened that horrible night and the pictures that told them the girl wasn't Sam.

"Oh God… my daughter is alive." Alexis gasped out as the tears fell from her eyes. "I knew, you know, I could still feel her in my heart. My daughter is alive, my baby girl is alive…"

"Mom?"

Alexis head whipped around towards the bedrooms, there stood Kristina and Molly, both with tears running down there cheeks from their beautiful brown wide eyes. Holding out her arms, she ushered them over to her, smiling as both her daughters came running towards her. "Is it true mom?" "Is Sam really alive?" Both Kristina and Molly in unison.

Smiling a genuine smile for the first time in what felt like days, Alexis answered. "Yes my babies, your sister is alive…."

Carly smiled with watery eyes as the family held each other in comfort and joy as they sobbed and laughed in relief. "And Jason is doing everything he can to find her." Carly said as she reached out to touch her hand. "I know you're tempted to call the cops, and that's your choice, but I know that Jason WILL find her."

Molly spoke up as she wiped her tears. "She's right mom, Jason loves Sam and he will find her." And Kristina agreed. "He won't let us down mom, I know it."

Alexis kissed first Molly's forehead, inhaling deeply, letting her essence wash over her before she did the same to Kristina. Sam was missing from their little family but she knew deep down that she will be found. "All of my daughters believe in Jason, I think…. It's time I believed in him as well."

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In the cabin out in the middle of the woods, Aidan was sitting next to Sam's bed as she stretched out and fluttered her chocolate eyes open. He had been waiting for this moment since he stopped giving her the drugs, wanting her to wake up, desperately needing to see her gorgeous eyes. Hearing her softly moan as she was waking up was making him feel things that he hadn't felt with any other woman. She was everything that he had ever wanted, and when she woke up, he would convince her that he was the better man for her, not Morgan.

Her head was throbbing when she woke up, she could feel a massive headache coming on and it was only getting worse by the second. When she finally had enough strength to open her eyes, she saw Aidan in front of her. Where was Jason? "Aidan?" She took a moment to look around the unfamiliar room before her eyes landed on his again. She was confused and the look in his eyes wasn't helping. "Where are we? What happened?"

"What do you remember?" He asked wanting to know what his next steps were, his next plan wouldn't work if she remembered that he was the one that drugged her. Chloroform has many effects on the brain, it plays with your memories and sometimes makes you forget the events right before the person was drugged. That was why it was effective out in the field, it was commonly used when kidnapping government officials or leaders.

Thinking for a moment, Sam tried to recall the last things that she could remember. She remembered rushing Jason to the hospital because he was drugged, she would have panicked instantly if she didn't remember that he had woken up and that he was ok. She remembered going home to find out who drugged him and Brenda, remembering entering Jason's penthouse and then… nothing… blank. "I remember going home from the hospital, but that's it." She was hoping he would fill in the blanks, tell her what happened between that time to waking up in a strange room. "What happened? Where's Jason?"

Aidan would have shouted for joy that she didn't remember him drugging her, but he held it in, he took a deep breath to implement his plan. "You were drugged." Her eyes widened. "The Balkan was the one that had Jason drugged and he found a way into the penthouse again. You were alone, so they drugged and kidnapped you. Jason, Sonny and I worked together, we found out the Balkan's hideout and rescued you…"

"The Balkan did this? Why?" Looking around the room again and listening for anyone else in the house, she realized that it was quiet, too quiet. "Where's Jason?" She took a moment to study him, he was looking at her with… pity? Panic started to rise, her heart was beating triple time, she didn't know what he was about to say but whatever it is, it couldn't be good, she could already feel an ache in her heart. "Aidan, please, just tell me." She implored him, she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "Where's Jason?"

This was it, this was his moment. "I'm sorry Sam, Jason is gone." Seeing the look of disbelief on her face, he decided to push this further, after all he was doing this for her, for them. In time, when they were far away from Port Charles, she will see that it was for the best. She was saying "No" over and over again, pleading with him to tell her otherwise, but it was too late, he had to follow through. "We ambushed the Balkan's lair, we found you in one of the rooms, and when we were leaving, Jason was shot in the chest…"

"NO! NO! YOU'RE LYING! NO!" She screamed as she through the covers off of her, needing to get up, needing to leave so that she can find Jason and prove that he was alive. She couldn't believe it, it wasn't real. "NO, no, no, no…. Oh God NOOOOO!"

He grabbed her as she was struggling to get off the bed, he held her tight to his chest as she fought to be freed, the entire time she was yelling at him as she pounded on his chest. His heart clenched at the thought of hurting her, of lying to her, but it was for her own good. In time she will come to realize that he was the one for her, that he loves her, that he would do anything for her. And one day, she will love him in return. As she cried with everything that she had, he couldn't help the small smile that graced his lips.