The next few hours traveling to Maryland seemed to drag on and on for Jason and Sam. Sam was thrilled that she'd finally be able to hold her baby. While Jason was excited too, he was concerned about the gunman and the fact that he was trying to get to the NICU where his daughter was. As the anger boiled inside of Jason, he refused to let it ruin this night for Sam, who wasn't oblivious to the potential danger. When they arrived at the hospital, they would be able to hold their daughter for the first time. They had been waiting weeks for this incredible moment. Neither of them could sleep on the plane, there was way too much to think about.

Flashback

It had been 3 weeks since the birth of Danielle Emily Morgan and Sam had practically been sleeping in the NICU. Her mother and sisters had been to visit her and Maxie and Spinelli had been in as well. Sam talked to Jason on the phone every day. She updated him on how much Danni was growing and told him how she missed him. She pictured him touching her, talking with her, and sharing all of their daughter's milestones. Unfortunately the reality was that Jason couldn't share any of Danni's milestones with her.

"Miss McCall," the nurse walked in pulling Sam from her thoughts.

"Yes?" Sam asked.

"We'd like to try and see if Danielle can breathe on her own. If so, you'll be able to hold your baby,"

"I'd love to finally be able to hold her, but is she ready to breathe on her own?" Sam asked the nurse.

"We think her lungs are fully developed and she will be able to, let's see," the nurse said as she began removing some of the tubes that Danni had. Sam watched, hopeful that she'd be able to hold her tiny infant for the first time. Danni was the miracle she never thought she'd have, so she was also concerned that something could go wrong. She heard the nurse yell 'code blue' and it happened so fast, the shuffling of doctors and nurses, the CPR they gave Danni and the way they reconnected her to the breathing machine. Sam was frightened for her little girl. She remembered that the doctors and nurses reassured her and claimed that Danni's body was just in shock and that they'd try again shortly. Sam remembered feeling so scared for her baby. She wanted to keep her hooked up to the breathing machine forever.

But then she remembered a few days later when Sam had left the hospital and the nurses got Danni to breathe on her own. When Sam returned, she was able to hold her baby. When they placed her in Sam's arms, she felt like heaven. Her head was so tiny it barely covered the palm of her hand and Danni's legs were barely long enough to reach Sam's elbow, but her little girl was beautiful. Sam remembered those blue eyes looking up at her and she knew in that moment that Danni was everything she'd ever dreamed of.

"Hey Danni, it feels so good to hold you. I'm your Mommy and your Daddy and I love you very much. Daddy's not here, but he wants to hear all about you. Mommy's so proud of you for fighting so hard." She gently kissed her baby's temple and handed her back to the nurse after a few minutes, she didn't want to do too much too fast, but the minutes she held her baby felt so incredible she didn't want to let her go.

Sam recalled that the nurses had to run a few minor tests and so she left the NICU and called Jason.

"Morgan," he answered after the guard at Pentonville handed him the phone.

"Hey Baby, I miss you," she said.

"I miss you too. It's earlier than normal, what's wrong? Are you crying?" Jason was starting to ramble like Sam. At first Jason didn't say much because he didn't like the other inmates hearing him, but when it came to his daughter he didn't care.

"I am crying, but these are tears of joy. Jase, Danni's breathing on her own some and I finally got to hold her in my arms," Sam said.

Jason paused for a few minutes. Sam didn't realize it, but Jason had tears coming from his cheeks.

"Are you ok baby?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. That's amazing. I can't wait to hold her too." Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out the picture Sam had sent him of her standing beside Danni's incubator. " I'm going to do whatever I can to get out of here as soon as I can,"

"I know you will baby. You'll be holding her soon too, I know it."

"Morgan, time's up," the guard said.

"Look Jase- I know you can't say it back, but I love you," Sam said as the line went dead.

After she hung up, she was sitting in the waiting area with her phone picturing the day Jason would finally hold Danni. She never imagined it would be when her little girl was 3 years old.

End of Flashback

"What are you thinking about?" Jason asked realizing that Sam was lost in thought.

"Oh nothing," Sam was hesitant to admit her memory, because she knew it would be difficult for Jason to hear that she was thinking about holding Danni when he wasn't there.

"Well nothing sure does have you thinking a lot," he said.

"You got me, I was thinking about the first time I held Danni," she admitted as she looked into his eyes for a reaction. "It was incredible, Jase."

"I wish I could have been there to share it with you," he confessed.

"Jason, stop. We can't change the past and Danni loves and adores you, and that's really all that matters," Sam said as she slid closer to him on the jet and he wrapped his arm around her. Sam took his hand and started playing with his wedding band. "You're here now. We're going to hold Bree together,"

Jason sighed. He wanted everything to be ok, but he couldn't stop thinking about the gunman and the fact that he couldn't reach some of his guards. He needed to keep Sam and Bree safe no matter what.

"What's the matter?" Sam asked looking into his blue eyes.

"Nothing," he said.

"Come on. It didn't work when I said nothing and it's not going to work for you either,"

"All right. I'm just worried that gunman was trying to get to me and he was going to use Bree to do it," Jason confessed.

"Jason, I know it's scary, but I also know you'll keep us safe," Sam said trying to be confident. She knew everything Jason was thinking was a possibility and she just wanted to get to her baby.

"I promise," he said as he placed a kiss on her bare shoulder.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Alexis, Kristina, Molly, and Danni went directly from Jason and Sam's house to the Lake House. They had several guards with them. Jason hated using the guards, but knew it was necessary. Whenever guards were necessary, he tried to make it so Danni didn't realize why all the men were there. Danni didn't know anything different, so she wasn't focused on the guards.

"What a great day that was," Alexis announced as they walked into the Lake House just as one of the men was coming through to tell her all was clear.

"And Mommy and Daddy get to hold sissy!" Danni reminded her proudly.

"I know munchkin, that is very good news! You played very hard today," Alexis said as she reached down and looked at her granddaughter covered in dirt and grass stains with her hair falling from her ponytail. She recalled how neat the child looked that morning and smiled. "Molly, why don't you take Danni's bag to her room and help her take a bath and then put on her pajamas?" Alexis asked as she yawned. She was exhausted.

"Come on Dan-Dan," Molly said as she held her hand out and grabbed Danni's bag with her other hand.

"All right Aunt Mols, but can I have a sleepover in your room?" the four year old asked.

"I guess," Molly said as they left the room.

"Ok Mom, spill. Why are there guards everywhere and why couldn't Danni go along? Because I'm pretty sure it's not because she can't hold Bree," Kristina wondered.

"Honey, Jason and Sam couldn't take Danni and they wanted the guards to make sure everything is safe. Jason's had guards on Danni since Bree was born and she's been traveling back and forth," Alexis explained.

"Yes, but not this many guards and Sam was weird all day," Kristina added.

"Kristina, your sister and Jason are calling all the shots, we're just watching Danni," Alexis said not wanting to worry her already stressed out daughter.

Just then, Molly called for some help in the bathroom. Apparently Danni was being very stubborn about having her hair washed.

"I have to go help her Kristina. Danni sure does get being stubborn from Sam," she said as she walked away.

"And probably from you too," Kristina mumbled.

Kristina sat on the sofa alone as she thought about the day and the guards. She knew something was up. She didn't know if it had anything to do with the explosion or with her situation with Johnny, but that's what she thought. She decided to call Michael and see if he could give her any info. He was after all running the mob in the absence of their father.

X X X X X X X X X X

When Jason and Sam arrived at the hospital, everything appeared to be getting back to normal. The police were gone and the hospital seemed to be functioning normally. There had been a few hostages, but no injuries or deaths, which led Jason to believe the gunman did not accomplish whatever it was he had set out to do. Jason had continued to try his men, but no response. He called Spinelli and asked him to trace the GPS on their cell phones.

Sam practically raced into the hospital and through security to the elevator. Jason followed her. When they arrived in the NICU, they found Patirck outside the corridor with Emma.

"Go ahead," Jason encouraged Sam as he remained outside with Patrick.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Jason knew it didn't matter, Sam was going inside.

"I'll be in as soon as I can," he said.

"Jason," Patrick said as he nodded for Jason to join his wife with their baby.

"She's just a little excited," Jason shook his head and explained referring to Sam.

"Understandably so, Robin shared the good news,"

"Thanks. Any news on the… the….situation from earlier?" Jason asked stumbling to find his words.

"No Jason, there's still no word on why a gunman would take 3 hostages in a hospital," he said as he walked away from Emma. "I don't believe you'd put my family in danger like that. I certainly hope this isn't mob related,"

"Patrick. I'm sorry, I honestly had no idea," Jason confessed. As a husband and father, he knew what it felt like when your wife or your child was in danger and he would never subject anyone else to that for any reason. "I would NEVER put you, Robin or Emma in a situation I know is dangerous."

"I believe that Jason, but I don't know about Sonny. We actually had a great weekend until this morning, didn't we Emma?" Patrick said as he walked over towards his daughter.

"Why don't you and Robin take Emma to the condo tonight and get some rest for your flight in the morning?" Jason suggested as Patrick looked at him funny. "I know Sam and she's not going to want to leave, so we'll stay here and you can stay at our place."

"Sam wanting to stay in a hospital?" Patrick questioned sarcastically.

"It's pretty rare, but it's already very late and I know she'll want to stay," Jason said.

"You'd better get in there and send Robin out," Patrick suggested.

Jason thanked Patrick again and scrubbed in.

While Jason was talking to Patrick, Sam quickly scrubbed in and entered the corridor of the NICU. She found Robin outside talking with a few of the nurses.

"You're going to be one proud Momma," one of them commented when she saw Sam.

"I hope so. How is she?" Sam asked with a questioned look on her face.

Robin and the nurses explained that some tests and scans showed that Bree's lungs had developed almost completely, so they attempted to take her off of some of the breathing machines for short periods of time. They said that during the lockdown, the neonatologist had been locked in Bree's room and had done several things to assist her in breathing on her own.

"That little girl of yours is a fast learner," Robin commented. "Sometimes babies go into shock and crash, but she was a little dare devil and stuck it out. She probably gets that from Jason,"

"Probably," Sam commented as she smiled, very proud of her little girl. "Speak of the devil," she said as she watched her husband coming down the corridor, "You're just in time,"

As he walked up, he looked at the smirks on Robin and Sam's faces and knew that whatever they were talking about, they were up to something. "Did I miss something?" he asked.

"Oh no, we were just talking about how much your daughter takes after you," Robin said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Oh, just that we can already tell she's a little dare devil, danger junkie," Sam said chuckling.

'I'm pretty sure our kids get that from both gene pools," Jason retorted.

Robin laughed, "Needless to say, she's doing very well and I'm not going to keep you from her a minute longer," she said as she walked away.

"Thank you so much Robin for everything. We made Danni's weekend and we couldn't have done it without you," Sam confessed honestly.

"We enjoyed it. Get in there, we'll talk to you guys soon," she said as she left the NICU.

Jason and Sam spent a few moments talking with the nurses and then it was finally time to go see their baby.

As they walked in, they found Bree in her incubator with oxygen, but the ventilator was unhooked. Sam immediately noticed her chest rising and falling ever so slightly. "Look Jase, she's doing it," she said as tears filled her eyes.

"She is," Jason commented as he smiled and looked from Bree to Sam and back over and over for a few moments.

"Hi Breanna, your Daddy and I missed you so much. We had to go be with your sister, but we are so proud of you. Do you know that?" Sam said as she touched her baby's fingers. She was waiting for the nurse to come in and place her in her arms. Bree started kicking her feet and moving her hands. "What's that, baby? You're excited that Mommy and Daddy get to hold you, well we are too," Sam said smiling as she watched her baby.

Jason was standing next to Sam, but his eyes were glued on both of them. He had decided that being with Sam and Bree was the priority at the moment and after he had spent some time with his infant, he'd check in on his men and the possible threat. He knew nothing was getting to his baby while he was with her.

"What are you thinking about?" Sam asked as her eyes left her daughter and stared at Jason.

"How perfect this moment is," Jason answered as he reached down and kissed his wife.

"Not quite," Sam said. "Just wait until she's in our arms."

"Are you ready for this?" The nurse asked as she walked into the room.

"Yes, very much so," Sam said as she turned to face the nurse. Jason was standing behind her and squeezed her hand.

The nurse had Sam sit down in a chair as they prepared Bree unhooking her from monitors one at a time.

"She'll be fine without these for about 15 minutes or so, but if anything happens, please press the call button," the nurse explained.

"You're not going to stay here?" Jason questioned.

"Mr. Morgan, I don't want to interrupt the precious moments you and your wife have with your daughter. I'll be right outside."

Jason knelt down beside Sam and wrapped his arm around her. She gazed into his eyes and smiled at him. The nurse carefully placed Bree into Sam's arms along with a few of the wires and monitors and then she stepped out of the room. Sam was speechless at first. She gasped and then tears started falling from her eyes. Jason's blue eyes were watering too.

"Hey sweet baby girl, it's Mommy and I have waited so long to hold you in my arms," she said as she looked down at her baby who still had her eyes closed. "Daddy and I are here and we love you very much," she said. Bree was so tiny, she fit into the palm of Sam's small hand and her tiny legs hung over Sam's arm.

Jason placed a gentle kiss on his baby's temple. "Hi there Bree, it's Daddy. We are going to love you and protect you always," he said as he spoke softly to his daughter who opened her brown eyes.

"Look Jase, she knows your voice," Sam commented.

"I'm sure she knows both of us and she'd probably recognize Danni's voice too," Jason said.

"You know baby girl, you have a big sister who loves you too- And a Nanna and lots of Aunts, Uncles, and friends. Everybody wants to meet you," Sam said.

"So you keep fighting until you're big and strong and we can take you home to meet all of those crazy people," Jason finished.

Sam turned to face Jason. "All right Daddy, it's your turn, but can you grab my phone?" Sam asked.

"Why do you want your phone?" Jason asked.

"Because I don't ever want to forget the moment we both got to hold our daughter," Sam answered.

Jason smiled thinking about his wife and his two daughters. He walked over to Sam's purse and grabbed her phone. First he took a picture of Sam holding Bree.

"Uh uh…you don't get out of it that fast, get over here and get in this picture," Sam said as Jason walked over and knelt beside Sam and Bree. Sam managed to hold Bree in one arm and take a picture of the three of them with the other. "Say cheese," she said.

After taking the picture Sam stared into her beautiful baby girl's eyes. She was still so very small and fragile, Sam was scared for her, but she also missed having their entire family together and wished Danni was with them.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked.

"Oh nothing, I just wish Danni were here," Sam confessed. "I know she's safer with my mom. What do you say we switch places?"

"Can we do that on our own?" Jason asked.

"Yes Jase, I think I can stand up with her and you can sit down and hold her," Sam informed him.

"Well I didn't know if we needed the nurse to help," Jason asked. The truth was that the tough Jason Morgan was scared that his daughter was so tiny and fragile. He didn't want to do anything wrong.

"Baby, we can do this," Sam said as she stood up and pointed to the chair. "Sit," she demanded.

"I love it when you order me around," Jason said sarcastically as he did as his wife instructed. When Sam kissed Bree on the cheek and handed her to him and he felt her soft skin touch his, he was speechless. His tiny daughter rested comfortably in between both of his arms and looked like a doll lying on his lap.

"Hey baby girl, you like it in Daddy's arms?" Sam asked as Bree appeared to move her feet back and forth. "I like it in Daddy's arms too. He's strong and knows how to make you feel safe. We love you so much and we're so proud of you," Sam said as she started to cry. She stood up quickly and grabbed her phone as she took a picture of Jason holding Bree.

"Well, what am I going to call you? Your big sister is my little princess, but I think you look more like a little pea. How about you be my little sweet pea?" Jason asked. "You like Sweet Pea? I'm going to tell you all about the world and your special place in it," he said as he touched her tiny fingers and then reached down and kissed them.

"Sweet Pea, I like it," Sam said.

"I'm so sorry to do this, but we're going to have to put this little one back. This has probably been enough for one day," the nurse said as she walked in.

"You hear that sweet pea? We don't want to wear you out, but Mommy and I are right here," Jason started.

"We love you," Sam said as she held onto Bree's tiny foot.

The nurse took her from Jason's arms and started to clean her up to put her back in the incubator. She hooked her back onto oxygen, but not the ventilator.

"Is she completely off of the ventilator?" Sam asked.

"The doctor thinks she will be fine, but we are prepared if she has a relapse," the nurse informed them. "We've also stopped using the feeding tube. She is starting to suck and you may be able to nurse her in a few days. Right now, the bottle will be easier for her. We're going to try feed her tomorrow morning," she told Sam and Jason.

"Is that something we can do?" Sam asked. She wanted to be able to take care of her baby as much as possible.

"Sure, we're going to try and feed her at 7AM, which is only about 5 hours away. If she doesn't take to the bottle though, we will use the feeding tube, which has not yet been removed," the nurse answered.

"Our friends are staying in our condo overnight, so we're actually going to camp out in the waiting area," Jason informed the nurse.

Jason and Sam noticed that Bree had fallen asleep. They wished her good night and went to the waiting room.

X X X X X X X X

After some struggling, Alexis had managed to get Danni to take a bath and wash her hair. Her granddaughter had a very eventful day and she was very grumpy. She finally got her to lay down with Molly. Alexis and Molly took turns reading to her until Danni finally fell asleep. When they were able, Alexis and Molly snuck out of Molly's room and left Danni sleeping.

"Mom, she was horrible tonight. She must really miss Jason and Sam," Molly commented.

"Honey, Danni's had a big day and her world has been turned upside down lately. She's just starting to feel the stress. She loves us, but she misses Jason and Sam," Alexis explained to her youngest daughter.

"Mom, I don't get it. Jason and Sam were planning on taking Danni with them tomorrow morning. Just because they could hold Bree, Danni had to stay here? I don't buy it," Molly said.

"Look Molly, your sister and Jason are making decisions that are best for Danni and Bree and we just have to support them," Alexis continued.

"But Mom, Sam can't stand to be away from Danni. She wouldn't leave her unless…. Unless something is wrong. That's it- something's wrong and that's why there are so many guards," Molly said as she pointed her finger. She was very proud of herself for figuring out that something was wrong. She knew she just needed to use her PI skills to figure out exactly what was going on.

Alexis encouraged both of her girls to support and trust Jason and Sam. It was very early in the morning, so she asked her girls to head to bed. Alexis prayed that everything was safe in Baltimore.

X X X X X X X X X X X

As Jason and Sam sat on the chairs in the waiting room, Jason made calls to his contacts trying to figure out what happened to his men. As he conducted business, he held Sam's hand tightly in his grasp. Sam wanted to call her mom and check on Danni, but hoped that Danni was fast asleep, as it was nearly 3 AM. Jason hung up the phone and leaned in to kiss Sam on the cheek.

"What a day," he remarked.

"It really has, we've had so many highs and lows today Jase. But the best parts of today were seeing Danni so excited and holding Bree,"

"Having those two and you, just makes everything worth it," Jason confessed as he put his hand behind her neck and started kissing her again.

Sam wondered if Jason had learned anything during his many phone calls, but she was distracted by the kiss. "Mmmm," she moaned softly before starting to pull away.

As she pulled away and stood up, Jason looked at her strangely. She then sat down on his lap. "Now that's better," he said as he held her in his arms.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too," he said as he kissed her hair gently and held her in his arms. He wanted to keep her and their girls safe. Jason didn't think he wanted to tell Sam anything he had just discovered about his men or the gunman. "Let's get some rest, so we can get up bright and early to feed our daughter,"

"That sounds good," she said as she drifted off to sleep in Jason's arms.

Meanwhile, Jason was considering all that was going on around them. Sonny was falling apart. Michael had chosen to take over the business at a time when things were very vulnerable. Kristina had chosen to use Johnny and as a result Anthony wanted revenge. Jason was concerned about everyone else, but what really concerned him was that a gunman was headed to the NICU where his daughter was. Jason had two guards in Baltimore that he couldn't reach, Spinelli found their phones in an alley. Jason feared they had been taken. Jason needed to figure out who the gunman was, but as he held his wife, he knew that she was exhausted and even though she didn't admit it, she was scared. Jason wanted nothing more than to take away Sam's fear and pain. He pulled his sleeping wife closer to him and placed a kiss on the top of her head. Jason loved Sam and he'd do anything for her and their girls, not matter what.