Sam stood there staring down into the water at Jason and Michael's frozen faces. "There in so much pain."

"They feel guilty," Emily pointed out.

"It's not their fault," Sam replied shaking her head. "I would have helped Michael no matter the outcome and Jason…it's my fault Johnny got ahold of me. I didn't follow orders."

"You rarely do," Emily teased.

Sam crouched down, reaching her hand out to try and touch Jason's face but as her hand reached the water it disappeared. "I do love him. I've been so afraid to admit that…to myself…to him."

"So is he," Emily pointed out. "Jason tells people he doesn't feel fear but I don't necessarily believe that. I just don't think he recognizes fear."

"He was afraid for Michael," Sam agreed. "I went to him, after it first happened. I didn't expect much from him, we were both so angry with each other but he let me be there. He let me tell him how sorry I was that Michael had gotten caught in the crosshairs of the business."

"He needed you then." Emily walked towards her. "He needs you now."

"But Lila-" Sam said standing up, looking around for her daughter. "I just met her."

"I know," Emily said quietly. "But she's happy here. She has me…Danny…a great-grandmother."

"Grandmother?" Sam questioned.

"You don't think Lila would let her namesake run around up here without her guidance do you?"

Sam smiled at that. "Jason would be happy to know that. That they found each other." She looked back down at the water, her smile fading. "I don't know if I can lose her again Emily. Losing Lila…that nearly destroyed me…and now I can have her back."

"There's something else I want to show you," Emily said wrapping an arm around her shoulders as Alexis' face appeared in the water.

Alexis hung up the phone and dropped her head warily into her hands. She was sick of fielding phone calls. If it wasn't some reporter searching for any juicy piece of information to use as their lead story, it was one of her supposed friends calling to offer their condolences on Sam's current situation. But in reality they were searching for some gossip; something to tell their friends at the country club or their office.

Most of her friends didn't know what to make of Sam. Alexis didn't even know what to make of her own daughter half the time. She didn't fit the mold that Alexis was always trying to put her in. Instead of thinking things through, Sam jumped into crazy situation after crazy situation. She was forever taking stupid risks and putting herself in danger. She scared Alexis with her fearless attitude.

But it was also something to be admired. She'd never said it out loud but she wished she had more of that kind of attitude. She wished she could just make a decision and follow through, damn the consequences. But no, Alexis always thought about the consequences.

"Mom," Kristina said tapping softly on the door.

"Hey sweetie," Alexis said leaning back in her desk chair. She'd been working from home since Kristina had come home from the hospital. Kristina hadn't gone back to school yet and Alexis wasn't ready to leave her home alone. "How are you feeling?"

"Scared," Kristina admitted sitting down on the loveseat that was across from Alexis' desk.

"Kiefer is locked up Kristina, he's under 24 hour guard," Alexis reassured her quickly.

"No…it's not Kiefer," Kristina said shaking her head. "It's Sam…"

"Sam's okay Kristina, the hospital would have called if anything had changed," Alexis said getting up from her chair to go sit beside her on the loveseat.

"She's not fine," Kristina said tears in her eyes. "She's unconscious in a hospital bed and they don't know if she's going to wake up."

"She is going to wake up Kristina," Alexis said wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

"You don't know that," Kristina cried jumping up off the loveseat to pace back and forth. "Dr. Drake said her prognosis isn't good. She lost too much blood and the head trauma was really bad. He doesn't know if she will ever wake up!"

"Have you ever known your sister to do what is expected of her?" Alexis asked.

"No," Kristina said.

"Exactly," Alexis said leaning forward to grab Kristina's closest hand. She pulled her back down beside her. "Sam is the toughest person I know. She's not going to give up Kristina. She's just taking her time."

"I wish she'd hurry up," Kristina said making a face. "I really need to talk to her…I need my sister." She froze and looked at her mom before closing her eyes and dropping her head to her chest. "How crappy of a sister am I? Sam is in a coma, possibly fighting for her life, and all I can think about is how I need her to wake up for me."

"You're not a crappy sister," Alexis said seriously. "And honey, you can always talk to me."

"No…I can't," Kristina said quietly. "Mom…you expect us to be perfect."

"I do not!" Alexis exclaimed.

"You do too," Kristina insisted. "I have to get the perfect grades and behave like the perfect daughter in public and you never listen to me!"

"Kristina-" Alexis said at a loss for words.

"Sam listens to me mom," Kristina said tears falling down on her face. "She never judges me. She never tells me what to do."

"I…" Alexis said but stopped herself from denying what she knew was true. She did expect the best from her children. Kristina was right. "I'm sorry Kristina."

"I just….I wanted to tell you that I was going to the hospital," Kristina said standing up.

"I'll go with you," Alexis said jumping up. When Kristina looked like she wanted to object she pleaded with her. "Please Kristina…I'm not ready to let you go off by yourself yet." She sighed in relief when her daughter nodded. "Go get your sister and let her know we're going to see Sam."

"It's not just Jason that needs you Sam," Emily insisted. "You have a family now. A family that depends on you more than you will ever realize."

"Alexis does expect perfection," Sam said staring at her mother's frozen face this time. "Which is why I know I'll never measure up; I will never be perfect."

"But that's why you are so good for one another," Emily said turning Sam to face her. "You show her that you don't have to be perfect and that screwing up is sometimes a good thing. And she shows you that you don't always have to make the bad choice."

"She'll never accept me for me."

"She already does," Emily disagreed. "She's just afraid Sam. Just like you." When Sam still didn't look convinced Emily sighed. "I have one more thing to show you."

"More people from my life," Sam said confused.

"The future," Emily said once again turning Sam to face the water.

Sam put her key in the lock, a smile on her face as she pushed the front door open. It had been an amazing day. Kristina was back from college for summer break and had brought a boy home. Sam did love watching Alexis go crazy from worry. She didn't know how many times her mother had told her that Kristina was too young to be in love. The last boy she had been in love with had put her in the hospital. But this boy was different, Sam could tell.

"I'm home!" Sam yelled tossing the keys on the foyer table. She paused but shrugged her shoulders as she headed towards the kitchen when she didn't hear anything. She couldn't believe she had beaten him home but she had left her mother's earlier than expected. She had to be back for Kristina's Welcome Home dinner but Molly had planned a formal dinner for the occasion so that required an outfit change.

She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge as she stepped through the patio door onto the deck so she could just relax for a moment. She'd been going all day, from the moment she'd left the house that morning to go to the hospital for her six month check-up. Ever since she'd undergone the reconstructive surgery that Dr. Lee had recommended she had been hoping for some good news. And today she'd finally been told that it was safe for her to consider trying for a baby.

She still couldn't believe that there was a chance for her to have a baby. A dream she had been so sure had been taken away from her. But medical science was always changing and Dr. Lee had been positive that a baby would be possible someday. And she'd been right.

Sam had wanted to shout it to the world but she'd had to hurry to greet Kristina and spend the day with her family. It had damn near killed her to keep the reason for her giant smile a secret but her mom and sisters would not be the first to know the good news.

"What are you doing out here?"

Sam whipped around and smiled as Jason stepped out of the kitchen onto the back porch beside her. "Just admiring our view." She still couldn't believe they had a view that didn't include downtown Port Charles. But when Jason had presented her with plans for them to build their dream home almost two years ago, she had been shocked. She'd only just moved back in with him and Spinelli six months before. But she'd jumped into planning their home with both feet and had overseen the design from the minute they had broken ground.

"How is your sister?" Jason asked wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Great," Sam said wrapping her arms around his neck. "She brought home a boy."

"A boy?" Jason repeated. "Alexis was okay with that?"

"Okay?" Sam said chuckling. "More like freaking out. She wants me to have a talk with Kristina about taking it slow…real slow."

"Why doesn't she talk to her?" Jason asked confused.

"Kristina would just accuse her of meddling and trying to run her life," Sam said rolling her eyes. "Which she'd be right. This way, I can approach Kristina as the concerned sister who is just looking out for her."

"Do you want me to check this kid's background?" Jason asked.

Sam smiled, they really did think alike. "Spinelli is already on it."

"When did you call him? Right after you left Alexis'?" Jason asked suspiciously.

"I texted him as soon as Kristina introduced him," Sam admitted. After everything that had happened with Kiefer, Sam was not taking any chances with her sister's life. Sam turned so she could rest her back against his chest. "How was your day? Did everything go okay?"

"It was…uncomfortable," Jason admitted. "Jake is still angry with all the lies. He doesn't understand why Lucky is raising him and why I'm not involved in his life. When Lucky decided to tell him the truth, I didn't know what to expect, but I didn't want to cause Jake any pain. And now he's hurting."

"He'll be okay Jason," Sam said rubbing his arms reassuringly. "It's a lot to take in for a young boy."

"I know," Jason sighed. He'd always had a picture in his mind of how it would be once Jake found out he was his biological father. But it was not everything he'd hoped. It was lots of silences and angry glares. "He at least agreed to another outing next weekend. I was hoping…you'd want to come with. You know how much Jake loves you."

"Of course I'll be there," Sam said soothingly. "I love Jake."

"You left really early this morning," Jason said after a couple minutes of quiet had passed. "I thought we would have breakfast together."

Sam took a deep breath as she slowly turned in his arms to face him once again. "I had an appointment this morning….with Dr. Lee."

Jason stared at her intently as he pulled her in tighter. "Are you okay? Nothing happened? Why didn't you tell me? I would have gone with you."

"It was just a check-up," Sam said biting her lip. "I don't know why I didn't tell you…I think I wanted to hear what Dr. Lee had to say by myself first." She shrugged her shoulders uncertainly. "I know it wasn't fair of me but…I wanted to have this moment."

"What moment?" Jason asked slowly.

"The moment where I tell you we can start trying for a baby," Sam said quietly. She started smiling as a smiled spread across his face and squealed as he picked her up to spin her around.

"It's safe?" Jason questioned after he set her back down on her feet.

"One hundred percent safe," Sam reassured him. "I almost didn't believe her myself until Dr. Lee even got tears in her eyes as she told me. We can have a baby Jason."

"Let's get started right now," Jason said picking her up making her laugh.

"We don't have time," Sam said allowing him to carry her back into the house and down the hall to their bedroom. "We have to be at Sonny's in thirty minutes."

Jason set her down in front of their bed and stripped her of her shirt before pulling his own black shirt off. "We're going to be late." He backed her onto the bed until he was lying above her staring down into her eyes. He leaned down and kissed her deeply, their breathing labored when he finally lifted his head.

"Okay," Sam mumbled wrapping her arms around his neck as she pulled him back down. He was right. They could be late.

"That's our future?" Sam wiped her cheeks as she stared down at the frozen images of her and Jason wrapped in each other's arms. She had always imagined a future like that for them but had always assumed that it was never going to happen.

"It could be," Emily said truthfully. "All you have to do is make the right choice. If you stay here Sam…your life is over. "

"Mommy!" Lila yelled running up to her. She waited until Sam was crouching down to wipe away the tears Sam had missed. "Why are you crying?"

"Mommy has to make a choice…a difficult choice," Sam said running her hands over her baby girl. She couldn't imagine leaving her behind. She'd wanted to be with her since the moment Jason had told her Lila was gone. And now here was her chance.

"Nana Lila always says follow your heart," Lila said wisely. And she got a happy smile on her face. "And your heart belongs to daddy."

Sam looked back at the water where her and Jason's frozen images had been but were now gone. Her heart did belong to Jason. She turned to face her daughter. "You are such a beautiful, smart, amazing little girl Lila. And Mommy loves you so much." She closed her eyes as more tears started falling. "I don't know how to do this Emily."

"It's okay Mommy," Lila said softly wrapping her arms around her mother's neck. "I know you have to go back to Daddy. He needs you right now."

"I love you so much," Sam said squeezing her daughter tight.

"I'll be right here Mommy," Lila said patting her back. "I have lots of people taking care of me. And I'll be watching you and daddy."

Sam squeezed her one more time before slowly releasing her and pulling back. She watched as Lila leaned forward and chastely kissed her lips before turning and scampering away. Sam touched her lips softly before she started crying harder. She stood up slowly and turned to Emily once Lila was out of sight.

"You made the right choice Sam," Emily said taking her hand.

"Will I remember?" Sam asked hopefully.

Emily slowly shook her head. "No…but you'll feel peace Sam. Deep inside you'll know everything is okay."

"What do I do now?" Sam asked looking around.

"Just close your eyes," Emily explained.

Sam took one last look at the last spot she'd seen her baby girl before she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.