Ok so I suck! I'm sorry it's taken so long between posts but after finals things got hectic with work and selling back books and before I knew it the holiday was here and with family visiting things got crazy! But I just saw my sister off on her plane today and am hoping that things will get back to a semblance of a normal schedule and with that I'll be able to write more often! So fingers crossed!

As for this update…it's smaller than my usual, sorta like the last one. That's because I'm struggling a little bit and I decided instead of making you wait even longer for a new post than you already have that I would post this mini and work my butt off to get the next one started and be sure to make it longer! Have no fears about the story! I know where I want it to go, but the problem is getting it there. So I hope you all can hang in there with me and promise that things are going to pick up! Thanks you guys!

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or its characters.

Sam didn't know how long she sat alone in her hospital room looking out the window, but when the door opened and Jason appeared she knew it wasn't long enough since Elizabeth had left her alone. Sam watched as Jason steps into the room, she looked at him almost as if he were a moving target for her to take out all her frustration on…he was in large part to blame for everything she was feeling. The hurt, the anger, and even yes the embarrassment…she was embarrassed because she was beginning to let herself get sucked back into this life. Life where gunshot wounds and attempted strangulation were almost a daily occurrence and it was considered an off day if Jason didn't have to pull out his gun. But Elizabeth's visit had been a wakeup call for Sam, one that she desperately had needed and hadn't even realized it. "You came back." Sam says her tone cold even to her own ears.

"I said I would." Jason says confusion etched on to his normally blank face. He thought he was finally making some ground with Sam, she had even smiling and even pleasant with him earlier. So why did he feel like he was back at square one?

"And you always stay true to your word…of course." Sam says rolling her eyes. "How could I have forgotten?" Her gaze hard and staring straight into Jason's confused one.

"What's wrong Sam?" Jason asks stepping to the side of her bed.

"Nothing's wrong…not with me anyways!" Sam says diverting her gaze; she had never been able to lie to Jason. She didn't think two years away from each other had changed that and she didn't want him to see the hurt she was trying desperately to conceal with her anger.

"Sam…" Jason says feeling at a loss for words. "Something is obviously wrong."

"Fine!" Sam shouts slamming her hands down on the bed and turning to glare at Jason, meeting his gaze straight on. "Something is wrong…You! You're my problem Jason!" Both are silent for a moment, staring at each other, waiting for the other to speak. Neither sure of what to say.

Jason breaks the silence first, "Sam…" but Sam cuts him off.

"You think I'm stupid Jason? Or that it's been so long that I've forgotten what your life is like? I know you have more important places to be than playing watchdog over one of your ex's." Sam was practically shaking from the tension in her body. "What are you still even doing here? Don't you have somewhere better to be?" She asks in anger, but also in confusion. What was the point of him staying if he had Elizabeth and his family waiting for him at home? Why was he still playing this game?

"Sam." Jason says her name firmly, trying to hold in his annoyance with her attitude. "What happened? What's got you acting this way?"

"Did you think I wouldn't find out Jason!" Sam asks her voice cracking, she was no longer able to hold in the pain.

"Find out what, Sam?" Jason asks in frustration.

Sam just ignores his question, if he wanted to play stupid than that was fine. "I was blind before and didn't see what was staring me in the face." The pain was all consuming now with the memories flooding her. "I was so stupid and naïve and I thought I had learned my lesson." Sam says more to herself than Jason, who was standing silently watching Sam, unsure of what to say or do. "But I haven't, I'll never learn when it comes to you." Closing her eyes Sam raises her hands and wipes at her eyes once, and then again, and again. But the tears won't go away, they're just replaced by fresh ones. The anger she had been holding on to was still there, but she didn't have the energy to keep it up. Taking a shaky breath Sam keeps her hands covering her face. "You need to leave."

Jason had been unsure of what to say to Sam, she was obviously upset and he didn't want to make it worse. But when she tells him to leave he can't stay silent any longer. "I'm not going anywhere, so you can just get that idea out of your head." His tone more forceful than he had planned, and he could see Sam stiffen in the bed, the tension rolling off her in waves once again.

Lowering her hands Sam can see the stubborn set of Jason's jaw and it brings her anger and insolence back to the surface. "Well I don't want you here Jason. And I think right now I should get what I want. Especially from you since it's practically your fault that I'm lying in this hospital bed."

Clenching his hands into fists Jason takes a deep breath trying to reign in his temper. He was so sick of people throwing it in his face that he might've been the one to shoot Sam down in Mexico and that it was possibly his fault that she was in the hospital. He had already felt guilty about that and didn't need the constant reminder. Sam mentioning it didn't help matters. "That may be." Jason says quietly. "But it also could be that if it weren't for me Jerry would've killed you. You don't remember it right now, but you wouldn't be here I hadn't shown up."

"I can take of myself." Sam says defiantly. "I'm sure I had the situation under control."

"Yes that was very apparent to me when I stormed into that run-down house and found you tied to a chair and Jerry holding a gun on you…You looked in complete control of the situation!" Jason says pacing away from the bed and back again. He didn't mean to yell at Sam, but when she got this way he couldn't help himself. "Why can't you just accept the fact that I'm not going anywhere? That I want to watch over you!"

"Because I don't want you here Jason!" Sam shouts, but it was a lie. The truth was that she wanted him there too much.

Jason didn't know what to say in response to that. Sam's words cut deep, a lot more than he thought possible. Turning his back on her he takes a shaky breath and closes his eyes, trying to find composure. "I understand you might not want me around, but right now…with the threat Jerry poses I can't trust anyone else…" Jason says before turning around to see Sam staring down at her hands, a look of hurt and confusion on her face. "I'm sorry if that's a problem for you."

Sam could hear the pain in his voice and it only confused her more. What was the cause? "I'm sure." She says dryly messing with her nails, picking at the flaking nail polish. Sighing Sam raises her eyes to stare at him. "You know what…It's fine. Whatever works for you. I just want this whole mess to be over with. And if that requires your constant presence than I guess I don't really have a say in the matter, do I?" Sam's words were a lot harsher than she originally planned on. "It's not like I really had any say with you before either, so I shouldn't be too surprised that that's the case now." She was trying to antagonize him, push him away, because then maybe he would leave. She knew it wasn't fair and she knew that he didn't necessarily deserve her attitude, but right now it was all about survival. And Sam's survival rested upon keeping her distance from Jason, both physically and emotionally.

Jason didn't know where this was coming from with Sam. She was happy than mad, one second spitting angry and the next crying too hard to speak. He didn't know how to handle her anymore…and that's when he remembered Sam was never one to be handled. When he had tried in the past was when he usually failed, until the end when he had lost completely. Now, when it mattered more than ever to get back to some semblance of friendship, for her safety if nothing else, it seemed Sam was having none of it. And the worst part was he couldn't blame her for how she was acting, he deserved worse. Gulping and shoving his hands in his pocket Jason shrugs his shoulders. "I don't mean to take away your choices and freedom Sam." He says, his words quiet and considerate. "I didn't then and I certainly don't now…but with Jerry I just can't…"

"I get that Jason!" Sam snaps trying to cut off whatever else he had to say. She couldn't handle this right now, his concern and calm. Why couldn't he do what she expected? Get angry and leave? Why didn't he go back to his life? His family? Why did he keep making them both suffer through this uncomfortable time together, in this small hospital room? What could he possibly gain from it? "What I don't get is why it has to be you? I mean couldn't someone else play guard dog over me until I'm released from here? It's not like you direly need my protected, what do I have to offer? I'm damaged goods with more problems that I can even remember…the latest being my selective amnesia of all things Mexico…" Sam says before her mind freezes at the thought, her wandering gaze coming back to stare at Jason who hadn't looked away from Sam the whole time. "Mexico!" She says in awe and understanding. "That's why you're hanging around me! You need to be sure that nothing happens to me before I remember what that whack job Jerry told me when he had me tied up! I get it now!" Sam says feeling mild satisfaction that she finally figured out why Jason was waiting at her bedside. Along with that also came twinge of sadness over the fact that he wasn't only there because he wanted to be. "I get it now." Sam says unable to fully clear her voice of the disappointment she was feeling, casting a glance at Jason before looking back down Sam saw the thoughtful expression cross his face.

Jason stared at Sam for a moment before shaking his head. "No I don't think you do." She was right when she said that he wanted to know everything that Jerry had told her, but that was only a small part of it. The thought of Jerry getting anywhere near Sam, or Sam getting hurt again was unbearable and Jason only trusted himself to protect her. To his and Sonny's men she would just be another person under protective detail that they had to watch over, it wasn't an exciting job to have and the men would get bored with it. To Jason it was so much more and it was personal. He wasn't leaving Sam's side for any noticeable period of time until this thing with Jerry was taken care of. They both were just going to have to deal with the close proximity.

Neither knew what to say and it was Sam who finally broke the silence. "I think you're over reacting Jason. I can't remember Jerry, but how much of a threat could he be to me?"

"He is dangerous Sam." Jason says forcefully.

"More dangerous than Neco, my crazy ex who, would've rather seen me dead than with another man? Or Ric and Alcazar who couldn't see past their rage for you and didn't care whose lives they destroyed in the process?"

"Yes." Jason says nodding his head vehemently. "Jerry is more dangerous than them."

Still unconvinced at the threat Jerry poses Sam thinks back another threat she had faced while with Jason, but her mind shies away from the memory, should she even mention it? Biting her bottom lip Sam wonders if she should go there, but decides that if Jason had truly moved on with Elizabeth than it wouldn't matter anyways. The memory wouldn't be as painful for him as it was for her. "Is he more dangerous than Manny?" She asks and the spark of concern that quickly transforms to fear before immediately turning to anger in his eyes lets her know that that was still a touchy subject for him as well.

Jason went cold inside at the mere mention of the maniacs' name. Manny was whole different breed of dangerous and one Jason never wanted to face again. The pain and destruction that he had caused was still evident today just by looking at Jason and Sam. Manny's bullet didn't only miss Jason and take away Sam's ability to have children, it also tore apart a love that neither had ever felt before and left both of them reeling for a long time after. Jason sometimes wished that he could bring Manny back to life, only so he could properly pay the man back for all the devastation that he had caused. Hearing the name come from Sam's lips brought back so much pain and anger that Jason needed a moment before he spoke. "Jerry is equally dangerous, if not more so, because he doesn't care how many people he takes out to just get one. He's a terrorist. Manny…" Jason's teeth clench and his fists turn white at his sides. "Manny was a psychopath, but he was more methodical about it."

Casting her eyes to the window Sam sighs. "Both equally destructive, but in very different ways." A new fear rose up in Sam now, not only because of the mention of Manny, but because she hadn't understood before the threat Jerry actually imposed.

Jason could hear the fear in Sam's voice and it brought out the protective instinct in him, knowing how unreceptive Sam would be he sighs and crosses his arms, fighting the urge to reach out to her. "None of that matters because he's getting nowhere near you. I'm here to make sure of that."

Sam turns back to stare at Jason and for the first time in a long time she felt protected, she didn't realize how much she had missed that feeling until she felt it now. But she also was concerned. "That's not going to be enough to stop Jerry, Jason."

"What do you mean?"

"You yourself said that Jerry doesn't concern himself with a body count. If he truly wants me gone he won't think twice about taking as many lives as possible to get the job done."

"Sam he's not going to get to you." Jason says shaking his head and trying to reassure her. He was grateful to finally be off the topics of Manny and him leaving her.

"But he doesn't need to Jason." Sam says urgently. "If what you say is true about him he would take out this whole hospital to get to me!" The fear creeping up her spine Sam watches what she's saying slowly sinks in to Jason. "Everyone in this hospital is in danger as long as I'm staying here…I need to get out of here before Jerry tries something else."

"Sam I think you might be over reacting." Jason says using her earlier protest against her now, but deep down he knew she had a point. Too many more failed attempts towards Sam and Jerry would probably be desperate enough to do something drastic against the whole hospital.

"Do you really think that Jason? Or are you just saying that?" Sam asks, even though she already knew the answer. She was surprised that after all this time she could still read Jason.

"I don't know." Jason says shaking his head. He knew he shouldn't be surprised that Sam knew he had been lying, she had always been able to tell before and it appeared even time and separation hadn't changed that.

"Jason I need to get out of this hospital!" Sam says struggling with the wires, trying to get out of bed.

"Sam you need to calm down!" Jason practically yells back, not even considering the fact that would just provoke Sam more, he was past reasoning with her at this point.

"You know what Jason?" Sam says pausing to glare at him in annoyance. "You can stay here and be the calm one, be Stonecold as Spinelli so accurately named you! But I'm not going to! I'm getting out of here before I cause any more innocent people pain and bring unnecessary damage to this hospital." Throwing the covers off of her Sam shifts her legs to the side of the bed and would've climbed out if Jason didn't reach out and stop her.

"You're not going anywhere until Robin or Patrick ok it Sam." Jason says his gaze fierce on hers. He understood her worries and he even shared them with her. But he wasn't about to let Sam mess with her recovery just because she was afraid for everyone else, she needed to consider herself in all of this too. "So get back into bed or I'll make you." Jason says lowering his head until their eyes are level with each other. He saw the defiance in Sam's eyes and part of him found it amusing that she would even consider getting physical with him right now when she was in no shape to put up an actual fight against him. The other part of him wanted to sigh in frustration that Sam would be so thoughtless about her well being.

"Woah!" They hear from the doorway causing both to jump apart startled by the intrusion. "What did I just interrupt?" Maxie asks coming fully into the room, a look of confusion battling with amusement on her face. She looks between Jason and Sam, both who have looks of annoyance and frustration on their faces. From what was the question?

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Silently fuming Jason stops his pacing in the hallway outside Sam's hospital room to look through the small window. It was the same as before, Maxie standing at the foot of the bed her arms crossed, blocking his entire view of Sam so he couldn't read her face. Waiting out in this hallway knowing that Sam was probably spilling her guts to Maxie was torture to him. And the fact that Maxie had kicked him out of her room, with Sam's encouragement, pissed him off. What was it going to take to get through to her? When would she finally accept the fact he wasn't going anywhere and that she was wasting her energy trying to keep him at a distance. He was sick of her defensive attitude and if that wasn't bad enough he was mad at himself for getting frustrated with her because she had every right to be acting that way. The whole process was extremely tiring.

What was making matters even worse was Sam's behavior. He couldn't understand what had brought on her change in mood from when he left with Sonny and returned alone. He had been gone maybe 15 minutes, but in that time she had something had upset her and it had to do with him. He wished he was able to just sit down at Sam's bedside and hash out their problems, to talk, like Sam used to force him to do. Except now Sam wanted the opposite and he was the one wanting to talk…he was in unchartered territory here.

Staring into the room Jason watched as Maxie finally moved from her spot at the foot of the bed and he now had a clear view of Sam. She looked like she was in shock and then just as quickly a look of shame crossed her face before Sam buried her face in her hands, shaking her head at the same time. Jason didn't know what was being said in the room, but he was fighting every urge to go in there and find out. With one hand hovering over the door handle Jason was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't hear the ding of the elevator or the person approaching him. It was finally the clearing of the feminine throat that caught Jason's attention. Caught off guard Jason's hand reaches for the gun out of instinct as he turns, but freezes halfway there when his eyes land on the intruder. "Elizabeth."

The nurse hesitates, her eyes darting between his face and the hand she knew had been reaching for his gun. Finally she takes a deep breath and then brings her gaze up to stare into his face. "Jason I think we should talk."

As I said it's a little short, but I promise that this isn't a trend for me! I'm going to try and do better I promise! Thank you to all who are still reading this, you guys all rock! And everyone that reviews…you ALL are truly amazing and this story wouldn't be where it is without you!