3.
Silas Clay swallowed his guilt. Judgment day had arrived. "I'm his doctor."
If he didn't say it, the hitman was sure to and, as bad as it was, it had to be better coming straight from him.
Sam couldn't have possibly heard him right. "What? No, no you mean you're Danny's doctor."
"No, I mean I'm Danny's and Jason's doctor. I'm the one who saved your husband's life. Repeatedly over the last year, I might add." He may have lied, but he was still the good guy and she needed to recognize that.
Sam heard the words, but she couldn't believe them. It was as if her body had gone too numb to process them and had that been a hint of pride in his voice? "You've... known my husband was alive for a year?"
"No, I didn't even know who my patient was for the first couple weeks and when I found out I had no idea he was your husband." Silas defended.
The numbness ebbed with every word he spoke and heat began to flow in its place. "But you knew he was somebody's husband, right?" Sam countered. "I mean it was front page headlines for weeks. It made international news and he's still wearing his wedding ring!" It was one of the first things she'd noticed and she grabbed at it now and held it up as if she needed proof.
She felt Jason's long fingers curl around hers and give her a little squeeze, letting her know he was there with her as she held them. She squeezed back and held tight. She thought she'd lost him. She'd let herself give in to the lie and this man that had sworn to do no harm had helped foster it with his silence and then used her pain against her. "Don't you dare stand there and tell me you didn't know!"
"YES, OKAY!?" Silas shouted at her and Sam's hand instinctively gripped tighter to Jason's as he took a menacing step in the doctor's direction. She didn't just get her husband back to lose him all over again to the PCPD.
"HEY!" Jason barked, demanding the other man's attention. "Watch yourself!" He warned and the doctor checked his tone upon seeing the promise of pain in the hitman's eyes.
"When I recognized him from the news, I knew he had a wife and son. But I didn't know you then, Sam. If I had known..."
"What, you would have told me?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm and growing disdain.
"Yes, no..." He was messing this up. He was supposed to have a couple more months to figure this out. He wasn't prepared to explain himself to her yet, but he had to get her to see his side. "It wasn't like that! Jason, tell her! Tell her I had no choice."
Jason showed Silas the same mercy the doctor had shown him when he'd asked for his help with Sam; none. "You knew I was alive and being held against my will for a year and for a year I asked you to help me get a message to my family and you refused. I guaranteed your safety and you still refused."
Sam's hands moved up to wrap around Jason's arm as she drew herself nearer to him. He could feel her soft thumbs caressing his bicep and see her looking up at him from his peripheral. He turned his head to meet her eyes and felt his anger rise at the pain he saw there.
Silas laughed at his notion of protection. "You couldn't even keep a bullet out of your own back. You think I was going to trust you or Corinthos with mine?"
Jason's fists clenched, itching to pound the man into oblivion. "Your life was never in danger, just your career. You knew that. I also told you I had leverage I was willing to use to get you out from under them." The murder of innocent civilians wasn't how the Jerome organization worked now and Silas knew it.
Silas shook his head. "Like I was supposed to believe you, I saw how desperate you were. You would have said anything to get back to your wife and son."
Tears welled up at the thought of Jason fighting to get home to her and Danny all that time with no one to help him. She should have helped him, but she'd given in and ignored the part of her heart that had never given up. Holding out hope as the days and weeks passed took so much out of her and Danny needed her. She'd lost four months with her baby boy and he deserved all of her. It felt like the right decision at the time, but now she couldn't help question it.
Jason wasn't buying it. "You had a choice to do the right thing and you chose to try and save your career instead." Try being the operative word, but Jason wouldn't tip his hand.
"When?" Sam let go of Jason to confront Silas head on. She just wanted to hear the man admit what he'd done. He'd known her husband was Jason Morgan and all about Jason's alleged mob affiliation for months because he'd used that against her at the custody hearing for her foster son, Rafe, and yet he'd still tried to get her into bed knowing her husband was alive.
"What?" Silas was too enraged over Jason's words to catch her meaning. His career was his life. Why should he give it up for a man that meant nothing to him? He'd saved his life. That should be enough.
"When did you know I was Jason's wife?" She seethed.
"Sam..." She had to know he'd known for months and going over it now would not help his case with her. His eyes cut to Jason, wishing his patient's hypotension would kick in and cause another syncopal episode so he'd have a chance to appeal to her better nature.
"WHEN?" Sam shouted!
Silas sighed and committed to getting it all out. He'd tell the truth now and, after Sam had a chance to think about it from his side, she was sure to understand. She had a fierce temper, but she was a forgiving person and one of the least judgmental he'd ever met. "After you told me about my nephew, I felt the least I owed him was to find out what kind of person would be raising him so I did some research that night and that's when I realized who you were."
The air was pulled from her lungs at his confession and Jason placed a comforting hand on her now. Sam knew Silas had to have known for a while, but it still hurt to hear it. No, hurt wasn't the right word. That implied she had some deeper feeling for him. It was more like a slap in the face from a stranger. At first, the slap stuns you and then, once the shock wears off, you're ready to pounce. "You've known since the day we met?"
Her instincts had been right and she hated him for making her doubt herself. She'd known he was hiding something from the way he'd had such a sudden change of heart regarding Rafe, but she'd let it go. She'd ignored her instincts and this is what it got her.
Silas nodded once. "That's why I fought for Rafe. I knew the people that had Jason planned on returning him at some point and I didn't want my nephew caught up in the mob."
"Really, because it looks to me like you're in it up to your ego." Sam snapped. Jason had told her a rival organization had taken him and that must be who Silas worked for when he wasn't busy alienating the staff and patients around hospitals.
"You and Jason, you chose this life. I had no choice!" Silas shouted in anger and Sam leaned into Jason, fully aware of the soothing effect her touch always had on him. She could feel the tension pouring off of him and knew it wouldn't take much for him to snap on Silas like he had on her former stepfather or Javier Ruiz those times they'd been hostile toward her. Not that she cared if Jason laid his hands on Silas at that point. The man deserved an ass kicking, but she couldn't bear the thought of being separated from Jason for a single minute right now and she didn't put it past Silas to press charges.
"I was young and desperate and I made a bad decision." Silas continued helplessly as the woman he desired stood touching her husband. "I was fresh out of med school with a rack of debt and barely making it. They offered me a way to make some easy cash and before I knew it, there was no going back. These are not the kind of people you want to cross."
"Did Diane know?" She wasn't sure why that question came to her with everything else on her mind, but every since the woman had defended the man who kidnapped her child, betrayed Jason and accused her of being an unfit mother in open court Sam hadn't trusted her further than she could throw her. If Silas had confided about Jason being alive and Diane had kept it from her, she would see that woman buried!
"No, that's my point." Silas gritted out. Why wasn't she getting that he was a victim too? "My life as I knew it would have been over if I breathed a word about Jason Morgan being alive to anyone."
"I'm not just anyone! I'm his wife!" Sam screamed at him and Jason's calming hand became a restraining one.
"I can't believe..." Sam shook her head as angry tears began to build, but she would not shed a tear for this man, not even in anger. "I was in agony when I thought Jason was gone and Danny might die too! You watched me pray to my dead husband to watch over his psychotic freak of a brother just so Danny would have a chance to live and all that time you knew! All those times you let me cry on your shoulder when it should have been, when it could have been my husband's and you knew Jason was alive and didn't tell me! You knew he could be a possible donor and you said nothing! Danny could have died if it wasn't for Derek!" She was shaking with fury and Jason ran his hand across her shoulders and pulled her to him to soothe her as he felt his own pressure spike at the reminder of their son nearly dying.
"Jason was tested! I tested him myself, Sam! I'd never let anything happen to Danny." Silas insisted.
"Let anything happen... You LET him suffer through cancer without his father there to comfort him! You let Danny spend a year of his life never knowing Jason's love, never getting to share all those firsts, never getting to bond with him!"
Silas sighed. He knew his next words would piss her off and maybe even hurt, but he'd never been a man to let that stop him from speaking his mind. "Since we're being honest here, maybe you should just admit that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Your son lived this time because of me. Do you really want to risk his life again by going back to the role of dutiful mob wife?"
"You son of a bitch!" Sam snarled and Jason barely had time to grab her shoulders as she lunged forward.
"You need to leave. Now," Jason's tone was lethal and Sam was still fighting to get at him.
"Or what, you'll kill me?" Silas scoffed and shook his head. "This is the thanks I get for saving your life and your son's?" Silas turned his eyes on Sam ignoring her rage as he attempted to help her see reason once again. "Sam, don't do this. Think about this, okay? I know you're angry right now that I lied and I'm sorry, but don't throw everything we have away."
Sam's struggling stopped cold. "Everything we have? Are you as insane as your brother? We have nothing!" She was two seconds from stomping Jason's insole just so she could get in a good punch.
"We almost made love!" At that, Jason let her go. This man knew he was alive and tried to sleep with his grieving wife? He'd let Sam start the beat down and he'd finish it up.
Sam wasn't sure what to make of Jason's reaction when he let her go, but there was no way she would let that ridiculous claim go unchecked. "We almost had sex! I don't love you. I don't know you!"
"You have feelings for me, Sam, and we both know it." Silas wouldn't let her pretend they hadn't shared something.
Sam clenched her jaw and took a deep breath before she spoke again. "What I felt for you was lust and what I thought was the beginning of a real friendship, but a friend wouldn't do what you did to me."
Her voice was calm, eerily calm, and that scared Silas more than her anger. He'd always been able to get a rise out of her, but now it was like he was dead to her.
"I made a mistake." He admitted.
Sam shook her head. He was lying to himself as much as he had to her. "You didn't make a mistake. You made a conscious decision over and over again to allow me to believe my husband was dead and, worse, to prey on my vulnerability in the name of friendship just so you could get me into bed."
Silas couldn't believe she actually believed that. "It wasn't just about the sex, Sam! You're worth so much more than that."
"You're damn right I am and I don't need some sleazy doctor telling me so to know it!"
Silas huffed. "No. Just a cold-blooded killer, right?"
Jason breathed deep for some last remaining vestige of patience. He was ready to let loose on the man for what he'd done to Sam, but she deserved the chance to confront this guy herself and Jason intended to support his wife however she chose to do it so he remained in his place by her side.
"I don't need any man to validate my self-worth and I definitely do not need you to tell me who my husband is or isn't! Now get the hell out and do not ever invite yourself into our home again. I'm having your name added to the building's no admittance list and if you approach me anywhere else, you'll be lucky if all you get out of it is a restraining order." Sam walked around the doctor and pulled the door open wide.
"You can't keep me from my nephew! I have custody, remember?" Silas clung to his last remaining connection with her.
"You'll be lucky if your nephew wants anything to do with you once he realizes what you've done, but I would never keep him from his family." She eyed him pointedly until he had the decency to look shamed. "Rafe is old enough to decide for himself if he still wants a relationship with you, but either way I won't have you anywhere near me or Danny again." She wanted to make sure he was crystal clear on that and if Rafe decided not to have anything to do with Silas, she'd support his decision and help him fight the custody ruling.
"How did you get free, huh?" Silas' anger was turned on the person responsible for putting him in his mess in the first place. "It was her wasn't it? There were only a handful of people who knew about you and she's the only one with any reason to bring you back now."
Jason's jaw clenched and he inhaled, again, deeply. He had no particular loyalty to Ava, but he didn't owe any explanations to the man who'd tried to sleep with his wife either. "You'd be wise to listen to my wife and get out, while you still can."
Silas noticed Jason's eyes shift to the closet near the stairs. He wondered if that was where the hitman kept his gun and decided it might be a wise time to leave after all. He had a few words for his baby mama anyway.
"Silas," Sam called to him and he turned to her soft voice with hopeful eyes just outside the threshold.
"Yeah?" He never saw that right hook coming as it clocked him in his face. His hand flew to his eye. It was certain to be black and swollen shut by morning.
"Don't let the door hit ya." Sam told him and before he could say another word, she slammed it in his face.
xxxxx
They were on the sofa again, in a familiar hold, with Sam tucked into Jason's side after he'd insisted on making an ice pack for her hand.
Several minutes had gone by since either of them had spoken. Neither had said much since Sam threw Silas out. It was a lot to take in, for both of them, and they'd been happy just to hold one another as their minds tried to catch up.
"Is your hand okay?" Jason pulled the pack away and took her hand into his for a gentle inspection.
"It's fine. You know I know how to land a punch." She'd missed how attentive he could be with her, but she was more worried at the moment about her husband than her two swollen knuckles.
Silas, if she could believe him, had said he'd saved Jason's life more than once over the past year. Had Jason been sick? Was he still?
"I know, but you put a little something extra behind that one." Jason smirk-smiled, remembering the look on the doctor's face. His woman had a mean right hook and she wasn't afraid to use it.
"He deserved it." Sam told him with no regret. "I considered kneeing him in the groin, but I didn't want him to think he was anything special. Everyone knows I'll slap, punch or pistol-whip just about anyone who pisses me off."
Jason chuckled. It was the first time he'd laughed in a year. "God, I've missed you." He told her as he placed a kiss on her forehead and she smiled.
"I still can't believe this is real. I'm afraid to let go." Sam admitted and held him a little tighter. She closed her eyes with a contented sigh as she felt him tighten his hold on her in return. It was real. He was there. Jason was with her, holding her.
"It's okay. I'm home now and I won't let anyone take me from you or Danny again." Jason assured her. "Is he still sleeping?" He hadn't heard Daniel since he'd arrived and wondered where he was. Jason couldn't wait to see him, to see for himself that his little boy was okay.
"No, he's an early riser like you." Sam murmured against him with a hint of incrimination in her tone and a faint smile found him at the thought. He'd once told Sam he never wanted Jake to be anything like him, but a part of him had always longed for that kind of connection to the son he'd given up. It was too late to have that with Jake now, but losing him and almost losing Sam and Danny had taught him a valuable lesson. He wouldn't waste another chance.
"He's at the lake house." Sam continued as she focused on entwining her barely injured fingers with his. He was thinner now she'd noticed, still tone, but less bulk. He'd lost muscle mass and some of his tan, but his hands were still the same, still strong, and tender.
"Mom wanted a little time with him." While I was on my date, she thought darkly, but pushed the thought from her mind.
"I wasn't supposed to pick him up until this afternoon, but I can't wait for you to see him." She'd dreamed of putting Danny in Jason's arms again so many times and telling him he was his father in every way and not just the ones that counted most. She was tempted to tell him now, but she really did want Danny in his arms when she told him. She wanted to see the look on his face when he looked into Danny's eyes for the first time knowing they were his own looking back at him.
"I saw a picture. He's grown so much." Danny was only four months old when Jason went missing. He was sixteen months now. Jason had missed his son's birth and his first birthday, but he'd vowed never to miss another as long as he drew breath.
"You had pictures of us, how?" Sam sat up to see him better now that they were talking.
"The man who had me, he managed to get a recent photograph of you and Danny and shared it with me." Julian had given him a copy of a picture he'd taken of Sam and Danny at the hospital a few weeks prior.
"I hope he didn't use it to torment you. Jason, we're not still in danger from him are we? I should call mom now and have her bring Danny home." Sonny's men were guarding Danny, but still. She had no idea what kind of threat was out there and if it hadn't been necessary to put all of her focus on bringing her son's father home, she would have had her little boy home with her the minute she got that call.
She moved to reach for her cell in her back pocket, but Jason stilled her hands before she could dial. The Jerome organization posed no threat to his family now, at least not directly, and Jason knew that thanks to a message Julian had delivered from one of his men.
It was seconds after Jason had received the text from Morgan, telling him that Sam was on her way home. Ava had given him a spare burner phone she kept on hand and he'd used it to communicate with her and Morgan during the execution of their plan. He'd been entering the back stairwell when one of the men Julian had assigned to guard Sam appeared out of nowhere. He hated that the man had got the drop on him, but his ongoing battle with infections had taken its toll.
He'd been caught. Julian had alerted his men and Jason thought for sure he was about to have to fight for his life not to end up back at Zacchara's, but then the guard surprised him. "Mr. Jerome wanted to tell you... welcome home." That's the message he'd had his guard deliver and Jason knew then Julian had meant what he'd said on the phone earlier to Ava. Was it better late than never or too little too late? Jason wasn't sure, but, ultimately, it wasn't his decision to make. That decision belonged to his wife.
"No, he and his people treated me well." Jason could see the confusion his attitude caused. Sam was furious with the people that had kept him away from her and rightfully so, but she didn't know everything yet and that might change how she felt. It had for him.
"I don't agree with what they did Sam, but I understand it." He hadn't forgiven it and wasn't sure he ever would, but he knew Sam might and he would understand if she did. After all, Julian hadn't done anything worse to her than some of the things Sam had blamed Alexis for and she'd forgiven her mother. In time, she might be able to forgive her father too.
"How can you say that Jason?" Sam rose from the sofa as she began to pace, anger alight in the click of her heels. "They kept you from us! They let me think you were dead!"
"I know." Jason stood from his seat and pulled her to him as she searched his eyes for some kind of answer that made sense. "I know and you're right, but there's a lot you don't know, a lot I need to tell you." This was going to tear her up, just like it had when she'd learned Alexis was her mother. She'd be torn over wanting that connection with her father and hating the man who'd caused her so much pain and in that moment, understanding or not, belief or not, he hated Julian Jerome for putting Sam in that position.
"Is it because they let you live? I mean thank God they did, but Jason that doesn't buy them a pass for what they did to you, to us!"
"No, it doesn't." He was still angry too, mostly over the pain his disappearance had caused Sam and all the precious moments he'd missed with his son, but he wasn't out for Julian Jerome's blood anymore. "But they didn't just let me live. They also saved me. If any other rival had found me that night or if they hadn't pulled me from the water when they did, I'd be dead right now."
Sam shivered at his words and Jason pulled her even closer to let her feel him against her skin and hear his heart beating in his chest as he continued. "I came to when I hit the freezing water, but I was so weak from the loss of blood and the cold. I kept fighting to stay above the surface and to pull myself back onto the dock, but the current kept pulling me under. I was determined not to give up, but the truth is I don't know how much fight I had left in me."
Jason could feel the warmth and wetness of her tears seeping through his shirt and kissed her head murmuring words of reassurance as he held her.
"I searched for you, Jason. I dove in the waters myself that night. I even found the phoenix I asked you to carry with you, but there was no other sign of you. Everyone told me it just wasn't possible for you to have survived. I should have known better. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I stopped looking."
"Sam, I don't blame you." He told her, but she shook her head as she buried her face further into his chest and squeezed her eyes shut willing herself not to fall apart on him. He could be sick. He just got home. I should be taking care of him, she lectured herself.
"Look at me." Jason directed her gaze to his. "It wasn't just you and me anymore. You had our son to think about. He needed you to put him first and you did and I don't regret that and I don't want you to either. Okay?" Jason held her gaze, imploring her to hear his words and believe them. He didn't want her feeling guilty or punishing herself for some misguided notion that she should have known better.
Sam nodded, but Jason wasn't sure he'd convinced her. She laid her head back against his heart and tightened her hold. "Should I call my mom now?"
"In just a few minutes," Jason told her as they pulled out of their hug and he guided her by the hand back over to the couch. "Danny's safe for now. I have men on him, but I need to talk to you first about something. It's important."
"You have men on him? Jason, how... Did you already speak to Sonny? Did he tell you about the guards he put on me and Danny this morning?" Sam was unsure how Jason could have guards in place so fast any other way, but then shouldn't he already know Danny was at her mother's if he'd spoken to Sonny?
"No. Sonny has men on you too?" Jason was surprised by that latest development and Sam nodded even more confused.
Jason took a breath and exhaled hard as he looked away in thought.
"It's okay." He decided. "These men know to stay clear of Sonny's men. They're good. There won't be any trouble until I can talk to Sonny about it." Jason assured her.
"Jason, I don't understand how you could have men on us already. You just escaped!"
"That's part of what I want to talk to you about. Sam, the person in charge of the organization that held me was..."
"I found something!" Spinelli sprung through their front door like a jack-in-the-box cutting off what Jason was about to tell her.
Sam smiled bright and jumped from the sofa, much like a jack-in-the-box herself. "So did I!" She grinned as she pulled Jason to stand next to her.
"Stone Cold... Jas, Jason?" Spinelli's voice went soft and Sam couldn't tell if he was two seconds from throwing his arms around her husband or having a stroke.
Jason actually smiled a genuine smile to see his friend again. He'd missed him. "Good to see you, Spinelli."
"Good, good doesn't even begin to cover it. This is incredible, amazing!" Once again Spinelli looked like he was fighting himself not to rush Jason in a hug.
Spinelli stifled his outburst and tried to compose himself as he held out his hand for Jason to shake. He knew his friend and mentor was not a hugger, even on a good day. But, apparently, this day was better than good Spin realized as Jason held out his hand to shake and then pulled him into a one-armed hug, complete with three manly pats on the back.
"Welcome home, dear friend, welcome home!" Spin tried not to cry.
"Thanks Spin." Jason let go of the younger man and pretended not to notice the moisture Spin worked quickly to wipe from his eyes.
"This is a miracle! We must put the good word out that our prayers have been answered. I'll start with Maxie. The entire town should be in the know before lunch." Spinelli pulled his phone from his pocket and began to text.
"No!" Jason's forceful response caused both Sam and Spinelli to take pause. This was good news. Why wouldn't he want the people who loved him to know?
Jason looked between Sam and Spinelli. "Right now you two and Morgan are the only ones aside from my captors who know I'm still alive and I need to keep this under wraps a little while longer."
"What's going on?" Her senses were on high alert. Jason had told her they weren't in danger. Actually, no, he'd said they weren't in danger from the people who'd taken him. Was there some other threat already on the horizon? Is that why he had guards on them? If so, how could he know about it so fast? Jason said he hadn't spoken with Sonny and she doubted his captors would be so forthcoming.
"I promise I'll explain everything, but right now the only people that can know I'm alive are you two, Sonny and your mother. Morgan gave me his word he won't say anything until I do and I'll just have to trust him to keep quiet."
Ordinarily, he wouldn't have involved Alexis, but she was Sam's mother and this concerned her too.
There was a knock at the door and the three of them froze for a second before a voice called out on the other side. "Sam, honey, it's your mother!"
They heard keys jingling at the lock even though it wasn't engaged and Sam looked to Jason for direction.
"Maybe it would be better if you eased her into Stone Cold's return. We wouldn't want to frighten Danny if she happens to faint from the shock." Spin suggested.
Jason nodded and retreated to the kitchen just as the door opened and Sam stepped forward to greet her mother. "Mom, hi, I thought I was supposed to pick Danny up from your place later today."
"That was before." Alexis smiled wanly then looked to Spinelli. "Hello Spinelli."
"Most gracious greetings Goddess Mother," Spinelli beamed.
"Goddess Mother? I haven't been that for years. You know, Spinelli, you're good for a grandmother's ego and don't let anyone tell you any different." Alexis told him as she pushed Danny's stroller inside.
"Baby boy!" Sam smiled bright as she hefted him from his stroller and onto her hip. Their family reunion was almost complete and Sam couldn't wait to put Danny in his daddy's arms.
"You two sure are in an awfully chipper mood this morning." Alexis observed.
Something was up. Alexis had no idea what might have brought on Spinelli's good mood, but she couldn't help wonder if her daughter's bright smile had anything to do with her date the previous evening. She sighed and hoped the unease that thought brought her didn't show on her face.
She didn't really have much to say against the doctor any longer since he'd help save her grandson's life, but, in all truthfulness, she didn't think her daughter was really ready to move on and she wasn't altogether sure Silas Clay was a good fit even if she was. Alexis had already voiced her concerns once, however, and so she decided to bite her tongue on the matter unless Sam came to her for advice or Silas did something to warrant further concern.
"We received some good news today, no, incredible, amazing news today. Right, Spin?" Sam grinned at her partner almost unable to contain herself.
"Indubitably," Spin concurred with a grin that bested the Cheshire cat's.
"Well hopefully that trend will continue. I could use it." Alexis replied cryptically.
"What's going on?" Sam said as her smiled dimmed. She worried something may have happened with Danny or her sisters or Rafe. Nothing good lasted for long in her life, it seemed, without something equally devastating happening too. Danny looked no worse for wear, but her mother appeared a little off the more Sam studied her.
"In a minute, I want to hear this good, incredible, amazing news first." Sam's smile grew again as she shared another grin with Spinelli and Alexis couldn't take the suspense. She wasn't kidding when she'd said she could use some good news. She just hoped the news waiting for her and Sam in that envelope in her purse was good too.
"Alright you two, spill it." Alexis ordered with a sly eye. It was the same one she'd perfected after years of practice with her three girls. Davis girls were always up to something and poor Danny, the little Davis boy, hadn't fallen far from the tree Alexis noted as she watched him stealthily reach for the phone in Spinelli's back pocket.
"Daniel Morgan!" Alexis called to her grandson and he froze in mid-action as he turned his little head to look at her. "No sir." She told him in a firm, but gentle tone.
Sam looked down to find the one year old in her arms had nearly lifted Spinelli's phone completely out of his back pocket without either of them knowing. "Danny, no," Sam chided. "It's not nice to pick-pocket your godfather."
A single brow rose on Alexis' face as she stifled the urge to point out it wasn't really nice or legal to pick-pocket anyone, but she found herself too caught up in the beautiful image her daughter made mothering her son and how fortunate she felt to be a part of their lives now given all the mistakes she'd made in their beginning.
"I must say, Fair Samantha, young master Daniel has inherited his mother's skilled hands. I didn't feel a thing." Spinelli said in slight awe and Sam had to admit a part of her was proud to hear it.
"Don't encourage him, Spinelli." Alexis cautioned.
"Mom's right Spin. You hear that Danny? You're just gonna have to find a more productive use for those skilled hands of yours. Don't worry though. That's what your daddy and I are here for; to help you with that." Sam spoke to Danny as he played with the collar of her shirt and threw occasional glances her way and back to Spinelli's phone which was now in Spinelli's hands. She kissed her son on his forehead when she was done.
"Sam," The sudden sadness in Alexis' voice caused Sam to look up into her mother's eyes and she was confused by the level of concern and sympathy she saw there.
"What?" Sam said not realizing what she'd said to cause it.
That was the other reason Alexis had come over earlier than planned. Her middle child, Kristina, had called home from college to chat over breakfast and she'd asked about her sisters and Danny as well. Their conversation had led to the reminder that today was the one year anniversary of Jason's death and Alexis didn't want her eldest daughter to spend it all alone. She wasn't sure the news she intended to share with Sam was appropriate for such an emotionally charged date, but, if nothing else, it may distract her from her pain over losing Jason and that would be something at least.
To hear Sam include Jason in her future with Danny still, after all this time, broke her heart for her daughter. She'd known deep down Sam wasn't ready to move on with another man and this, to her, proved it and it made her wish for the thousandth time since her son-in-law had been killed that there was something she could do to bring him back.
Jason Morgan may not have been her first or 30th choice for her daughter, but he was Sam's first choice and Alexis had finally learned to respect that and Jason's place in her baby girl's life, the very same baby girl who stood before her now all grown up with a baby of her own. "Sam, you told Danny that Jason is here with you and Jason's..."
She couldn't bring herself to finish and see the pain in her daughter's eyes when she reminded her that Jason was never coming back. "I'm sorry sweetheart. I'm just worried for you. I know emotions must be running high today of all days and I wish there was something I could do to make it better."
Alexis began to doubt her decision. She'd already made the mistake of not coming to her daughter right away with her suspicions, and she definitely didn't want to make that mistake again now that there were actual answers. But she realized now the news she had would offer a temporary distraction at best and then Sam would have even more weight and worry on her shoulders and in her heart.
Sam realized her slip when she'd spoken to Danny and exchanged a brief look with Spin who was now biting his lip, probably in effort not to blurt out their good news. A blind man could see he was bursting at the seams to share something. They would need to do better if they intended to keep Jason's return a secret from anyone for very long.
Sam looked back at her mother and saw the genuine care and concern Alexis had for her and it touched her. She'd been her rock this past year.
"Mom, Jason's..." Sam started and stopped when Spinelli made a loud and pointed gesture of clearing of his throat.
Sam was so excited to share her good news she'd forgotten they wanted Danny out of the room first in case her mother didn't handle it well. "Spin, I think Danny could use a change. Would you mind?"
"Of course," Spin agreed accepting Danny into his arms, who, immediately went for the phone in Spin's grip as Sam handed him over. "Come along wee one, although not quite so wee anymore. I'm afraid a new nickname may be in order." Sam and Alexis watched as Spinelli made his way upstairs with Danny.
Sam looked back at her mother who gave her a sad smile. "I love you, sweetheart. I hope you know that."
"I do mom, and I love you, too. Let's sit." Sam offered as they both moved to be seated on the sofa.
"I have some incredible news and I want to try to prepare you for it, but I'm not sure there really is any way to prepare for this kind of news." Sam began to ramble.
"It's okay. Just tell me. After dealing with my Cassadine family all these years, there really isn't much you could tell me to shock me." Alexis assured her then prayed her daughter wasn't about to tell her the doctor was moving in. That couldn't possibly be the daddy Sam was referring to, could it? Please tell her she knew her daughter better than that, she begged the heavens above.
"Jason's alive!" Sam blurted and wished she'd thought to have a paper bag on hand first.
"Except that." Alexis replied and closed her open mouth to swallow, hard. "Sam what, what would make you think that after all this time? I knew today would be hard, but I just had no idea it would lead you to..."
"Mom," Sam interrupted. "Mom, it's true. I haven't gone Cassadine crazy. I promise you. Jason survived. He's alive."
Alexis studied her daughter for any signs of mental breakdown. She seemed fine other than her insistence that her dead husband was still among the living, so Alexis decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. If a Cassadine could rise from the dead, why not a Cassadine's husband she figured. Alexis bit her own tongue for counting her daughter in with the Cassadine lot, but there was no escaping your DNA as the results in her purse set reminding her.
"What's changed your mind?" Alexis inquired and watched as the smile on her daughter's face brightened in a way she hadn't seen since her baby boy had been returned to her alive and well.
"Me," A familiar voice answered and Alexis turned from her spot on the couch and nearly fell out of her seat. "Jas," Her hand rose to her chest as she tried to catch her breath and Jason held a paper bag out to her.
"Jason?" She called out, ignoring the bag in his hand as she rose from the sofa and no one was more surprised than her when she threw her arms around him.
"Is it really you?" Alexis studied the area around his neckline and every feature of his face, even going so far as to check for make-up and a wig. She refused to let an imposter hurt her daughter the way Faison had hurt Anna.
Jason almost chuckled at her reaction once they pulled out of the awkward hug. She was checking to see if he was wearing a mask like Faison had. "I have nothing to say without my lawyer present." He replied with his trademark blink-stare and Alexis breathed a sigh of relief and exasperation.
"Oh, yeah. It's you alright." She determined, issuing him a wry look, and turned back to her daughter who was now standing too.
"It's really him." Sam said with happy tears in her eyes and a smile on her face and Alexis pulled her daughter into a hug and squeezed her tight as she rocked her happily.
"I am so happy for you, my baby." Alexis told her and she was.
"Me too," Sam sniffled and shook her head at herself. She'd been an emotional mess since Jason came home.
"Okay, you two, details! I need to know how this is possible." Alexis said as she made herself comfortable on the sofa again.
Sam moved over to Jason and put her hand in his as he pulled her onto his knee in the chair next to the couch. "Jason was just about to give me details when you and Spin showed up."
Jason swallowed and nodded.
"You were about to tell me the name of the person running the organization who held you prisoner." Sam reminded him.
"Right. You should know they treated me well, though, Sam. I mean I wasn't allowed to leave, but they treated me more like a guest than a prisoner. The only thing denied to me was access to the people I love and certain pieces of information my captor thought might work against him if I knew."
"You mean make you try harder to escape." Sam deduced.
"The thought of coming home to you was all I needed to inspire me to try my hardest." Jason answered and even Alexis found herself moved at that heartfelt declaration.
Sam wrapped her arm around Jason's neck as her other hand cupped his cheek and they shared a loving kiss. She pulled back slightly, allowing their moment of intimacy to linger between them before sitting up straight again.
Jason sighed and focused on what he needed to tell them. He grasped Sam's hand in support to remind her they were together and they would get through it together too.
"Sam," He picked up from where he left off before Spinelli arrived. "The person in charge of the organization that held me was Julian Jerome."
He heard Alexis' audible gasp, but couldn't take his eyes away from Sam. She looked at him in complete confusion, ready to dismiss it. "Jason, that can't be. Julian Jerome is dead. He died when I was ten." She'd done the math after learning from her mother he may very well be her father. She'd been curious to know when and where she was in the world when her father had left it and she'd decided to write that down for Daniel one day in case he ever had those same thoughts about his own father when he was older. She was so happy her son would never have those questions now.
"That is what everyone was led to believe, Sam, for matters of national and international security. But I assure you Julian Jerome is as healthy and alive as I am." Healthier, in fact, Jason added silently.
Sam shook her head and became extremely agitated at that news and Jason wasn't sure why. He hadn't told her who Julian Jerome was to her yet. The man was a stranger to her and he didn't understand why she seemed to have such an intense reaction to his being alive.
"Are you telling me Sam's father is alive and he's the man who held you all this time?" Alexis said still stunned.
That caught both Sam and Jason's attention. "What do you mean? I thought we were still waiting on the DNA results to come back. Did you hear something?"
"DNA, what's going on?" Jason thought he'd been the one in the know, on this matter at least, and now felt completely out of the loop.
Sam pulled Jason's hand into her lap as she laced her fingers with his. "It's a long story, but when Danny got sick..." She looked up suddenly, "He's fine now Jason. Danny isn't sick anymore." She assured him.
"I know Sam. I know he's in remission now. Julian kept me updated on you and Danny as much as he could." Jason told her.
Sam huffed and her brows creased at his admission, not sure at all how she felt about that. All she knew was that her heart hurt, hearing Jason speak of the man who might be her father and the man who'd caused her so much pain and realizing they might be one in the same.
Sam wasn't sure how to respond to that so she continued with her explanation. "When Danny was diagnosed with Leukemia and failed to respond to the chemo, we were pretty desperate to find a donor. That's when I finally asked Alexis to tell me about my father. There wasn't much known about him and so mom began researching it. We managed to find a donor without him, but mom still wanted answers so she continued to look into it and that's when she discovered my father, Julian, may be Julian Jerome."
Jason frowned. If he'd known Sam suspected Julian was her father, he would have started his story in some other way to break this all to her more gently. "But if you thought Julian was dead, where did you get the DNA?"
"Julian had another child." Alexis answered.
"Carly and I may share a brother." Sam said and the look on Jason's face almost made her forget the upsetting news about Julian Jerome.
"Lucas, Lucas Jones is your brother?" Jason was glad he was sitting down. He wondered how Carly had reacted to the news and it was the first time he'd bothered giving her any real thought since learning all she'd been up to in his absence.
"Possibly, Lucas is the biological son of Julian Jerome and when Bobbie explained everything to him he consented to a DNA test to determine if we're half-siblings." Sam explained.
"The tests were supposed to take a week, but, mom," Sam said turning back to her now. "You sound like you already know the answer."
"No, I just know my luck with men." She muttered, but it was loud enough for Sam and Jason to hear.
"I was able to persuade Ellie to work around the clock until she had an answer and voila." She said, pulling the envelope from her purse. "She called me to pick them up from the hospital this morning."
Jason felt Sam's grip on his hand tighten and rubbed her back in comfort. Alexis looked at the envelope in her hand and then at her daughter and was now decidedly in favor of Julian Jerome being anyone's father other than her daughter's. Jason seemed positive Julian was alive and that Julian had been the one to allow Sam to think her husband was dead. Time had a way of changing people as Alexis well knew, but these actions seemed the work of the same ruthless man she'd learned Julian Jerome had become.
Alexis held the envelope in her hand, not wanting to open it and confirm what she already knew in her gut.
"It's okay mom. Open it." Sam encouraged. There was no turning back now. She needed to know if the man that had held her husband hostage was also her father.
Alexis took a deep breath and tore the seal on the envelope. She unfolded the papers and took a deep breath as she scanned them for the answers both mother and daughter needed. Her eyes watered as she found them. "It's a match. Lucas is your half-brother and Julian Jerome..."
"Is my father," Sam finished.
She felt, she felt numb is what she felt, but hurt and angry too. Was it possible to feel all these feelings at the same time? It must because she did. She'd rose from Jason's lap and began pacing again, but it wasn't an angry tempo. The rhythm was off-track, lost, just like she felt. Julian Jerome was her father and he was alive. Her father was alive, but he'd also been the one to keep Jason from her and to let her believe he was dead.
She was crying, she was fairly sure of that and she thought she heard Jason and her mother calling her name, but it was like she was in a fog of some sort or more like a crowded room and it was hard to hear their voices above the din in her head. She didn't know this man. He was a stranger. He meant nothing to her. But if that was true, why did it hurt so much? Did he know he was her father? Did it make a difference after what he'd done?
She felt Jason's hands on her shoulder and shook him off as she quickly dried her eyes. She refused to make Jason comfort her over the man that had kept him hostage for a year. "It's okay. I'm okay." She insisted though mother and husband could see she was anything but.
"Sam it is okay to be upset about this." Jason told her and tried once more to console her.
She allowed him to pull her closer to him, but her wall was up and her body was filled with tension. "I'm fine Jason. The man means nothing to me. I've lived most of my life just fine without a real father and I'll live the rest of it without one just fine too."
Jason sighed and shared a concerned look with Alexis over Sam's shoulder.
"Sam, there's more I need to tell you. Once you hear the whole story, it may change things for you. It did for me." Jason told her as he led her back over to the sofa.
Alexis was now standing near the fireplace. She'd stood when Sam stood up to pace, ready to console her, but hesitated when she saw her daughter reject Jason's first attempt.
She sat down now in the chair that Jason had vacated moments ago and held her breath for whatever Jason had left to tell them.
"Jason, it's okay. I don't think there's anything else I need to know about Julian Jerome." Sam told him as she watched him struggle with how to tell her the rest.
"I wouldn't be so sure!" Spin challenged as he landed the bottom step.
They'd been so engrossed in their conversation they'd forgotten he was there.
"Where's Danny?" Sam had a sudden urge to hold her little boy close and she filled that need by clutching Jason's hand in both of hers as his arm wrapped around her waist.
Jason wrapped an arm around Sam and pulled her closer to his side where he sat.
"A few tweets and a quick diaper change later and he was out like a light." Spin grinned.
"Good. He needs his rest after everything he's been through." Sam told him and herself as well, still fighting the urge to go to him anyway.
Jason twined his fingers with Sam's and kissed her on top of her head. He could sense her desire to be with their son now because he felt it too. He just wanted to hold his son. Danny may not be his biological child, but he was his in every way that counted and that was how he'd thought of him since the moment he and Sam had fought to save him from Heather Webber up on that hospital rooftop a year ago.
It had taken everything in him to walk in the opposite direction when his little boy had been just on the other side of that door, and again not to rush into the living room to finally see him again as he stood in the kitchen listening to Sam discipline their little pick-pocket. He wanted nothing more than to go to him now with Sam by his side and hold him, but that would have to wait a little bit longer. Sam needed him more right now, whether she realized it yet or not.
"Yeah, Spin, what do you know about him?" Sam was curious what her partner could possibly know about a dead man or presumed dead man anyway. He had no reason to be on Spin's radar that she could think of.
"That's what I intended to inform you of when I arrived." He said and Sam and Jason both recalled his words earlier when he'd entered.
"You said you found something." Sam repeated.
"Indeed I did." Spin concurred as he reached into the laptop bag he'd nearly dropped on the floor after finding Stone Cold in his abode with Fair Samantha just like old times.
He pulled a phone from it. "I found this." He told them as he held the phone up. "It's the burner phone that was used to make the original call to you about Jason."
"Spinelli..." Jason started, but was interrupted by Sam.
"Where did you find it?" Sam was even more curious now.
"That is the most interesting part of all. I found it in none other than Derek Wells' office! It was on the floor as if it'd missed the waste bin." Spin announced and the plot thickened.
"Why on Earth were you snooping in Derek's office?" Alexis felt a little defensive of the media mogul suddenly and wasn't sure why. He'd saved her grandson. That had to be it.
"You know how I put out a few feelers on that specialized hardware I mentioned?" Spin looked at Sam for confirmation.
"Yeah, the hardware required to run the software that enabled the caller to disguise their voice." Sam followed.
"Exactly! Well, after I left here earlier, I got an anonymous tip about a custom piece of machinery that fit the bill in Derek Wells' office." Spin explained in a way so as not to rat out his friend who worked security over at the Metro Court.
"I managed to buy a little time to search it out and this phone was the last thing I expected to find, but it was also the least of what I discovered." Jason didn't like where this was going. Spinelli was an expert when it came to computers. It wouldn't take much for him to hack Derek Wells' computer and when he did...
"Spinelli, I think that..." Jason started again, but, again, Sam cut him off. She was on a mission.
"Are you telling me the computer and phone used to make that call were made from Derek's phone and computer?" Sam wasn't sure what that meant. Was he in on it or had he learned somehow what Julian was up to and tried to put a stop to it?
"Jason, is Derek the one who helped you escape?" Jason took a deep breath. How to answer...
"Not directly," That was evasive, but truthful. This was heading downstream fast.
"What does that mean?" Sam could tell he was holding something back.
"Maybe Derek was helping from the sidelines. Maybe he wanted to avoid the danger of dealing with the situation directly." Alexis offered and tried not to think of all the reasons she hoped she was right.
"Possibly," Spin conceded. "There's no question after the evidence I found that Derek Wells is tied to Julian Jerome in some way, but he isn't the one who made the call."
"How can you know for sure? I thought you said the modulation was too sophisticated to decipher." Sam said.
"Ah, no, I said for most to decipher, but I am not like most." Spinelli claimed and everyone else in the room couldn't argue with that.
"I was able to retrieve a sample of Derek's voice off a recording from his office phone." He continued. "I then duplicated the modulating process using the same frequency and compared it with the digitized voice recording of the call. The signatures don't match. His voice is too deep when using the same modulation used to make the call. After further study, I'd say it's more likely a woman made the call."
"Silas mentioned a woman earlier. Jason, who was he talking about? Who helped you escape if it wasn't Derek?" Sam needed answers. She needed to know who to thank and who to hold accountable.
Jason took a deep breath. Seeing Sam and Spinelli at work, he felt sorry for anyone who ever underestimated them. "Your father's sister made the call, but Julian is the one who let me go."
"Father..." Spinelli was now out of the loop.
"Later, Spinelli," Alexis told him.
Spinelli opened his mouth to object, but thought better of it when he saw the look in the Goddess Mother's eyes. He could have sworn he'd just seen a glimpse of the infamous Natasha Cassadine and he was immediately silenced by the possibility. He nodded mutely instead.
Suddenly the pieces clicked. "Ava, Ava Jerome is my father's sister. Isn't she?"
Jason held her steady gaze and nodded.
"That bitch! She knew you were alive all this time and that we were family? That was the deep dark secret she was warning me about." Sam shook her head ruefully. "Only she couldn't incriminate Silas without incriminating herself!"
Sam was livid.
"No!" Jason corrected. "She knew I was alive, yes, but they didn't know about you and Danny being related to them until the donor drive."
"So, my father does know about me. He's known for weeks about me and Danny and he still kept you from us?" A part of Sam was crushed, but she was too angry to feel that part now. She wanted to see him. She wanted to make him face her and answer to her for what he'd done to her family!
"Where is he, Jason? Where the hell is Julian Jerome because he and I have a few things to say to one another?" Sam demanded.
"Sam, I think maybe..."
"Jason..." Sam warned in that tone that indicated he could very well be next on her list if he held out on her now and that's all she had to say for him to know she meant business.
He looked to Alexis for help in talking Sam down, but she looked just as fired up as his wife.
He sighed, resigned to his fate. This meeting was inevitable and he'd known it from the start. Julian must too and he hoped like hell the man did the right thing and told his daughter the whole truth when they spoke because heaven help him if he ever got caught lying to her again.
"I'll set it up." Jason told her and he pulled the burner phone Ava had given him from his pocket and made the call.
"We need to meet." He told him when Julian answered.
"I've been expecting your call. I assume you told her at least part of it. How is she?" Julian knew he had a lot of explaining to do, but he still wasn't sure which story to give her; the one the underworld, including Sonny Corinthos, had been led to believe or the truth about who really funded his organization and to what end.
"I'd say your odds are better going up against Faison and coming out unscathed." Jason answered flatly and Julian smirked at the man's humor. It was the driest he'd ever come across, but it had grown on him in the time they'd spent together.
Sam narrowed her eyes at Jason in a discerning fashion as emotions swirled through her. Was Jason joking with her father? There was nothing jovial about it, but Jason was rarely jovial with anyone but her anyway. It's just that he didn't seem to regard his captor with contempt and she guessed that's what she'd expected from him. This interaction threw her because she'd never seen him so relaxed when engaging an enemy. She didn't know what it meant that Jason would regard her father in any way less than an enemy after all he'd done, but, knowing her husband, she knew it meant something big.
"Tell your men Sonny has guards on Danny and Sam. I don't want anyone hurt before I can straighten this out with Sonny." Jason practically ordered.
"They're aware and have been instructed not to engage." Julian assured him.
Sam's eyes widened with realization. The men Jason had watching her and Danny were her father's men! Jason had entrusted them with Danny's safety and hers. She didn't know how to feel about that or about any of it. All she knew was that she was hurt and angry and also so thankful that her husband was alive and there with her. She just wanted to go upstairs and climb into bed with her husband and their son and shut out the rest of the world.
Alexis could feel the stress radiating off her daughter and went to sit by her on the sofa as Jason stood in front of the fireplace on his call.
Spinelli found a home in the chair Alexis left. He hadn't spoken since that glare Natasha had given him.
Julian gave Jason the time and place for them to meet and Jason ended the call after confirming they'd be there.
Jason pocketed his phone and looked at his wife. She looked like she'd gone 10 rounds and there were several still to go, but she was still standing, still fighting. That was his wife. That was the woman he'd loved longer and deeper than any other in his life.
"We meet in two hours." Jason informed them. "Spinelli, Alexis, I'd like a little time alone with Sam before then if you don't mind."
"Of course, Stone Cold, I'll just make myself scarce." Spinelli complied.
Alexis kissed her daughter, hugged her and whispered that she loved her as Sam squeezed her back. "Love you, too, mom and nothing Julian Jerome does can change that, okay?"
Alexis smiled weakly and nodded as emotion filled her eyes again and stole her voice. She cleared her throat and stood from the sofa.
"What time should we meet back here?" Alexis wondered aloud. She wasn't really sure what she would do with herself until then, but Jason and Sam deserved a little downtime if they could find it. Maybe she would just go pay Derek Wells a little visit. Julian Jerome wasn't the only one who had a little explaining to do as far as she was concerned.
Jason checked his phone for the time.
"Fifteen before one is good." He answered as he joined Sam back on the sofa.
"See you then," Alexis replied as Spin held the door open for her.
"Alexis," Jason called and she paused in her exit and turned.
"No one can know about my return yet, not until it's safe."
"I won't tell a soul." She wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their happiness now.
Alexis started to leave again and then turned back on second thought.
"Welcome home Jason. Your family and friends missed you, all of us." She confessed then gave her daughter one last smile and was out the door with Spinelli in tow.
Page 29 of 29 Created: 2014-01-26 Updated: 2015-01-21 Words: 11072 Characters: 58377