RED – Jason and Samantha

Inspirational Song: Glass House – RED

CHAPTER 7

"Danny you don't need to be standing on that couch young man. Your cars may fly around this house but you do not." Alexis instructed her grandson with an ever present smile on her face as she shook her head thinking of how Danny had always been destined to be an adventure junky with his mother and father who they were.

"Ok Grandma." Danny giggled as he jumped down from the couch to the floor in front of the coffee table as he held his motorcycle high above his head pretending it was making a jump from the back of the couch to the table now front of him before he moved it across the table again making it fly to the back of the chair in by the fireplace where his Grandma was now seated as she read over her paperwork. When the sound of the lock of the front door flipping caught his ears causing both his and his Grandma's eye to snap to the entryway of the home, eager to see who would be walking throw the door.

"Hey big guy come here and give your Grandpa one of those bear hugs." Julian requested bending down with opened arms as Danny ran in his direction laughing as he flung himself into them, holding Danny helped, he though as he clung to the boy tightly his red-rimmed eyes catching Alexis's over their grandson's shoulder.

"Where's Sam?" Alexis asked standing to her foot placing her paperwork on the coffee table as her stomach began to twist and her heart rate picked up at the sight in her fiancée's eyes. There was something in them that was unsettling her inside, something that had the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.

Julian kissed Danny's head as he planted him on steady feet before he asked his grandson to go pick up his room, patting him gentle on the back when he headed up the stairs. Making sure Danny was out of view before he stood to unbutton his coat his vision pinned to his future wife's as he slipped it off his shoulders to reveal his now bloody light blue button up shirt underneath.

Instantly she knew that their daughter would not be following her father through the door that was still wide open behind him. Heading straight to her desk Alexis pulled her purse to her and began riffling frantically in it for her cell phone. Frustrated when she was not able to find what she needed fast enough she grabbed the bottom of it and dumped the entire contents of out on her desk.

"Alexis, honey what are you doing?" Julian questioned the same sadness that had been apparent in his eye now noticeable in his voice.

"I'm calling our daughter." She informed him finally getting her phone in her shaky hands and entering the pin code into the lock screen.

"She's not going to answer." Julian stated his voice cracking as he come to stand behind her doing his best to wrap his arms around her although she was pushing them away.

"Don't say that." Alexis raged at him her eyes already overflowing as she eventually found Sam name on her favorite contacts list pressing the call button and putting it on speaker, only to have it ring once then go straight to voicemail again when her daughter cheery voice flooding the room "You've reach McCall and Jackal Investigations, this is Samantha Morgan; I am currently engaged but if you leave your name and number I will return your call as soon as possible. And if this is my mother, I promise you I'm fine. Stop calling I will call you back the very FIRST chance I get, Love you."

She wasn't sure when or how he'd accomplished it but now Julian's arms was all that was keeping her from hitting the floor as all her strength left her and she doubled over racked with sobs for her baby girl. This was it, this was the only way she would ever be able to hear her eldest daughter's voice from this day on. Some past recordings, videos, pictures, and a clipping of baby hair was all her grandson would have of his mother, her daughter in their future.

"Mom?" Molly voiced her arrival to the sobbing couple who were clung to each other as if their lives depended on it.

"Hey Molly, so what wedding crisis are we dealing with alre…." Lucas began as he walked in to stand next to his soon-to-be step sister but trailed off into a silent look of confusion as he got a good look at Molly's face before he follow her line of sight to Alexis and his father, who's shirt was stained with a good amount of blood.

"Please take a seat. I am going to go change my shirt before Danny come's back down." Julian informed as he lead his grieving fiancée to the chair closest to them. Kneeling briefly in front of her to reach up and softly wipe at the continuous tears on her cheeks he told her he had texted Kristina to come as well before he heading to their room to put on a clean shirt.

"Mom, are you okay?" Molly asked replacing Julian in the spot on the floor in front of her mother, leaving Lucas to hover over her holding on to Alexis's shoulder doing his best to show her the comfort she clearly needed.

"I think it's best if we wait for Kristina to arrive before I explain. Danny will be running down those stairs any second and he is going to need at least a couple of us to be able to keep our composure." Alexis was able to choke out as she grabbed a hand full of tissues her youngest daughter was now offering her. "I know that the both of you are worried and confused but I REALLY need your help keeping Danny occupied upstairs right now…because I can't…. I just can't…" she tried to finish only breaking down in another bout of soul wrenching cries.

20 MINUTES LATER

"Hey Bubby." Jason greeted his son as he was shown by Alexis into the bedroom that she'd called Sam's room. Dropping his bag on the floor next to the bed Jason couldn't get his son into his arms fast enough, holding extra tight he pulled him up off his feet knowing that he was all he had left of the woman he loved beyond words.

"Thank you Lucas, Kristina just arrived if you want to head downstairs. Jason as soon as your ready…we uh... we have a lot we will need to go over." Alexis spoke wrapping her arm around Lucas's shoulder for a moment as he walked by. She understood how much it meant for Jason to be holding Danny in his arm's at this moment, maybe even more so because he didn't remember how each he and Sam had meant to each other in their life before. Danny was her daughter's legacy, he had been Sam's greatest joy, her entire world and he was all they had left of her…. Yes, Danny was certainly going to be held very tight by many people for the rest of his life. "If you'd like I can stay and…"

"No. Thank you but I…I need to… this needs to come from me." Jason struggled to get out in a ruff graveled tone still holding his son ever so closely to him, his tried eyes meeting with Alexis's watching her as she brushed away a few tears coming over to kiss Danny's head before she made her way out closing the door to give them their privacy.

"Grandpa said I needed to clean my room because we were going to have company but I thought he was talking about Mommy that's why Uncle Lucas and I were waiting in here. I didn't know you were coming Daddy. Are you coming to stay with me and Mommy?" Danny innocently questioned after he lifted his head from Jason's shoulder. His big blue eyes were shinning with anticipation the way Sam's always did when she was over excited about a cracking a case or going on adventure to solve mystery she'd been given.

Placing a hand on the back of his son's head Jason pulled him forward to place a quick kiss on his forehead before he set him down on the edge of the bed so that he could kneel in front of him. Looking up at Danny now all Jason could think about was all the times everyone, especially Sam would say how much his son looked just like him; Yet all he wanted in that moment was for Danny to look like Sam, so that he could see her deep brown eyes again and not his own crystal blue.

"I uh… I'm going to be staying here with you for a little while…" Jason began.

"Yay! Mommy's is going to be super happy like me." Danny interrupted as he clapped with enthusiasm a joyful smile spread across his little face.

Then Jason got his wish, if only for a moment, he could see Sam there with them in Danny's smile and it took every ounce of strength inside him not to completely break down. Swallowing hard he looked into Danny's eyes searching hard for his next words, knowing there was truly no easy or gentle way to say what needed to be said. "It's actually just going to be me and you buddy."

"Did Mommy have to go away for work again?" Danny asked familiar with the fact that sometimes his mom had to go away to help people, because that was her job.

"No buddy…. You know how Mommy didn't answer her phone this morning when you called?" Jason started still fumbling for the right words as his son nodded his head in confirmation. "Well the reason Mommy didn't pick up is because she was in an accident."

"Like when I fell and cut my knee?"

"Kind of but when Mommy got hurt she was went to sleep and went to heaven so that she could stay with your Uncle Danny and your sister." Jason watched as his son's smile faded and his eyes glassed over.

"Is it going to be a long time before Mommy comes back from Heaven like you did?" Danny enquired as his bottom lip began to quiver, his unshed tears now in the corner of his eyes as he tried to understand why his mommy would want to leave him for so long like his daddy had. Didn't she remember how sad it had made her when Daddy had been gone for so long?

"No buddy… Mommy…. Mommy can't ever come back the way I did." He pushed past the lump in his throat as he crush what little hope he could still in his boy's face, watching helplessly as Danny's tear's started to fall, what small part of his heart that wasn't already broken shattered.

"Why not?"

"Because Mommy… Mommy died Danny."

"But I want her to come back Daddy…. I want my Mommy!"

"I know son…. I know. I want your Mommy back too. I'd give anything to have back with us."