Author's Note: This is just a short peek into the mind of Sam McCall. It's much shorter than what I usually write, and it will not be expanded upon.

He slept like there were no troubles in the world; as though life were as perfect as she liked to pretend it to be. Staring down at him, Sam McCall wished everything could stay just like that... perfect, serene, and as close to heavenly as she could ever possibly reach. But of course, nothing could stay that way. What was it that had been said in The Outsiders? Nothing gold can stay. That was true, and she felt that her gold was going to fade fast.

It wasn't one thing in particular, more a feeling. There was only so much in life that could go right before it all went to shit. Granted, she'd had her fair share of shit. Her baby girl had died and Sam didn't know about until days later. She had taken her turn as number one suspect in a kidnapping. But, all the while, Jason Morgan had been there. A man who tried to pay her to leave town at one time, a man who had hated her guts. But, he had learned to love her, and through all of the bad, he was the shining bright light of good.

But, it couldn't stay forever. Sometime soon, the day had to come when he told her it was over. Because nothing gold can stay, and this was as bright and shining gold as they could possibly come. Inside, her gut twisted and told her that she was on her way back to copper at any moment. The knots told her she should leave now, before it got too far. Before things got out of control and she was unable to do what was necessary. Before her heart broke into a thousand pieces because the happiness had ended after she had opened herself up fully.

"Sam?" She jumped slightly at his voice. Jason sat up in the darkness. The light coming from the window shone across his chest. He rubbed a hand down his face and muttered in a gravelly voice, "What are you doing up?"

"Just looking out the window." Only as she spoke to him did she realize that she was lightly fingering the silver, diamond-encrusted star that Jason had put around her neck months earlier. "I couldn't sleep."

"Wanna talk about?"

"Not really." She shrugged, then sighed. "Go back to sleep, Jason. I'll come back to bed in a bit."

Sam turned back towards the window and stared out. She could feel Jason's eyes on her back and she knew that he would continue to look at her until she came back to bed. Yet, she continued to stand there, staring out... Because he was looking at her, and she knew those eyes were filled with love. She could stand both of them being awake a few minutes longer as long as he looked at her that way. Because beneath the glow of the moon, she could pretend that the love would never fade from his eyes and one day, she would be Mrs. Morgan. The Mrs. Morgan that actually lasted.