Chapter One
“It’s me, Sam. I’m here.” Jason exclaims a flutter of excitement rises in his chest. The moment he had waited five years for was finally here. Making eye contact with Sam, Jason could sense something was wrong. It was her, but it wasn’t her. She was a shell of her former self. Wondering if it was the night before events or something more, Jason slowly moves into the room. He wants to take care of her, he wants to make everything better, but he’s unsure if it’s his job anymore.
“It’s you; you’re real. Last night was real.” Sam cries, shifting in her bed, wiping her sweaty palms off on the bed; She looks at Jason, tears in her eyes. “It wasn’t a dream?” Choking on her words, Sam lifts herself up, closes her eyes and cries. “I’ve dreamed of you a million times, of that face; you always disappeared in the morning.” Feeling overwhelmed, Sam shakes in disbelief, refusing to open her eyes. She recalls the events from the night before in her mind.
“Don’t cry; I’m here! I’m real. I’m Jason.” Hurrying himself to her side, Jason stares at her. To him, she looked so different, yet the same; she was the same woman he fell in love with, he could see that in her eyes, but there was something else there. Something he didn’t recognize, yet. Examining her, Jason familiarized himself with Sam’s old features and memorized her new ones. Captivated by her absolute beauty, Jason slides his hand on top of Sam’s, causing her heart monitor to beep stronger and louder. Trying to understand what her life is now, how this was Jason when Jason just left; Sam cries harder.
Connecting with each other, Jason realizes Carly was right. He needed to see Sam; she needed to see him. Opening her eyes, Sam realizes the truth she’s been running from for the past two years. The man that just left her room was not Jason. Everything she had doubted about the imposter, was explained by Jason’s presence. Connected in a place with no words, their eyes tell each other everything that is needed to be known; Everything 5 years took from them.
“Sam,” Squeezing her hand tighter, Jason holds her name in his chest.
“Who are you?” A voice from the door echoes.
Entranced by each other, Sam and Jason don’t realize Danny is at the door watching them. Shifting his gaze, Jason makes eye contact with Danny. With his son. Taking one look at Danny, Jason knows. He knows that is his son. That is his Daniel Edward. Danny was everything Jason has imagine his son with Sam would be; down to the curly blond hair and his big doughy brown eye.
“Danny.” Jason releases Danny’s name in instead of Sam.
Staring in disbelief, Sam marvels at her two men, finally together as father and son. Wiping tears away, Sam beams at Jason and Danny.
Since finding out Danny’s true paternity, Sam has wished for only one thing; for Danny to know Jason’s love and to know now, he would, caused Sam’s heart to sing tunes of love.
“You’re Danny, right?” Inching closer, Jason couldn’t resist the pull of their son. He wanted to be closer to him, to be closer to them both. Remembering their last encounter together as a family, Jason smiles; his heart feels with happiness, and he yearns for that feeling again. He wants home again.
“Right,” Danny says with a smile on his face.
Danny’s smile makes Jason smile. It’s subtle, simple and just like his, Jason notices.
Feeling overwhelming joy, love, sadness, regret, and guilt, Jason stares at Danny, mostly marveling at Danny’s boldness. Sam stares at them both unsure of what comes next.
“Right, um um um I’m a friend of your mom. I remember your uncle that she named you after.” Holding back from telling Danny what’s in his heart, Jason rocks back and forth, trying to explain who he is without explaining who he is. Not knowing what Sam believes or what she wants, Jason looks to a silent Sam. Unable to speak a word since Jason touched her, Sam stares. She doesn’t know what to say or where to start; seeing Danny with his father only makes it harder for her to find her voice. She wants to scream “HE IS YOUR SON! HE WAS NEVER FRANCO’S” she can’t, the words are lodged deep in her throat, refusing to be set free.
“How come I’ve never met you?” Slowly inching closer to Jason, Danny shakes paper at his side. He cautiously moves around Jason, hurrying himself to Sam’s side.
Flabbergasted, Jason steps back and watches. He observes Danny’s delicate nature towards his mother. He notices the concern in Danny’s brow and the love in his stare. Jason recognizes his son. His son with Sam. This big boy, who is, talking, walking and standing right in front of him. Everything he ever wanted was in that room. He didn’t need confirmation. His heart told him everything he needed to know. Realizing this, the last missed five years mean nothing if they’re safe and happy.
Standing face to face with Jason, Sam couldn’t deny the unspoken connection she was witnessing. Gripping the bed for dear life, Sam feels a rush of pure joy, sending her monitors into overdrive; a feeling she hasn’t felt since the night Danny came home.
Unable to deny Danny his rightful father any longer, Sam fights through the tears to find her voice.
“Mommy, Why are you crying?” Focusing on his mom, Danny grabs her hand. Just like his father Danny hated seeing his mom cry. Squeezing her hand tighter, Danny finds his mother through tear-stained eyes.
“Hi.” Danny smiles.
“Because I’m so happy to see you, my love.” Making eye contact with Jason, Sam swoops blonde curls from Danny’s face. Communicating with their eyes, Jason and Sam communicate the question of Danny’s paternity while Danny tells Sam about the card he made for her. Sam’s eyes confirm what Jason already knows. This is your son. Nodding his head, Jason turns his attention to Danny.
“Can you help me up?” Looking from Sam to Jason, Danny stares at a shocked Jason waiting for his response. Jason looks at Sam in disbelief. He can’t believe he will be able to hold his son again. When Danny first came into the room, Jason couldn’t believe he was seeing him, but to be able to touch him, hold him; it takes everything in Jason not to break down and cry to the heavens for this gift. Slowly bending down, Jason picks Danny up, taking his time; remembering every moment. Replacing old Danny memories with this new one, Jason recalls his last moments with Danny.
Pulling Danny closer, Jason loses his balance, overwhelmed, Jason, thinks about touching Sam for the first time. Catching himself, Jason resists the urge to hug his son; he resists the urge to sync their heartbeats.
“Put my son down.” Swinging the door the wide, Drew interrupts the tender moment, catching all that are involved off guard. Realizing his worst nightmare, Drew’s eyes begin to twitch. Suppressing his angry in the back of his throat, Drew balls his fist. Knowing what Jason is capable of, Drew prepares for battle. Hoping to prepare Sam before she encountered Jason, Drew readies himself for whatever Jason brings.
“Get out!” fills the room, rattling everything it touches
Placing Danny back down and stepping aside, Jason carefully watches Drew. Taking the passive role isn’t Jason nature, but he doesn’t know what this man is capable of; remembering Drew’s reaction from the night before, Jason looks to Sam for guidance, but receives a timid, shaking Sam. Jason takes note that Sam wasn’t doing this before the other guy showed up.
“Sam are you okay.” Taking in the changes to Sam’s behavior, Jason fights every cell in his body screaming at him. Jason knows something is wrong with her, he can see it in her face; He can feel it in the air. Where confusion once was, now lies fear. Her facial expression switched from joy to pain. The shift in Sam’s behavior upsets Jason to no end. Going with his first instincts, Jason moves towards the bed.
Preparing themselves for battle, Jason and Drew take their stands against each other.
“Did I do something wrong?” Danny whimpers, pulling everyone off the edge.
Tension filling every inch of the room, caused everyone to forget Danny was still around. Knowing his son is present, Jason backs down and moves towards the door.
“No, son. This bad man was leaving.” Drew proudly brags. Knowing Jason won’t attack with a child in the room, Drew pulls Danny closer, while moving them both towards Sam’s bed. Drew takes this opportunity to get the upper hand on Jason. Drew knows he has everything Jason holds dear to his heart, and Drew knows Jason would do anything to keep them safe.
“But mommy didn’t say he was bad; she said he was her friend.” Danny professes. “He said he knows uncle Danny, I don’t want him to go.”Sensing something is wrong, Danny wiggles free of Drew and stands in the center of everyone. Perceptive like his parent, Danny can see the hate between the two men. He doesn’t like Drew’s reaction to Mommy’s friend. He doesn’t want Jason to leave. Drawn to the strange man, Danny wants to hear more about his uncle.
Frozen, everyone stares at Danny trying to find the answer.
“Hey, is everything ok in here?” Carly barrels through the threshold.
“No, daddy wants mommy’s friend to leave, but that’s not what mommy and I want. Right mommy?” Danny grumbles, pushing past Drew and grabbing his mother’s hand.
The room stands still, no one moves, no one talks. Everyone stares at Danny wondering how they were going to explain this to a five-year-old. Everyone except Carly.
“Oh, is that right, Danny? Maybe mommy’s friend stays here, and you and I go check out the cool games in the playroom. Doesn’t that sound fun?” Carly suggests, reaching her hand out to Danny and nodding her head at Sam. Wavering on what to do, Danny takes a moment to look at each adult in their face, lingering on Sam’s face. Danny doesn’t want to leave his mother, he can feel something is not right with her; he can feel her fear.
“Are you going to be ok? Were your tears really because you were happy to see me?” Danny questions Sam while wiping a tear from her cheek.
“Yes, my sweet boy. I’m okay. Go, have fun! I love you.” Sam grasp, finally releasing the bedsheets. This is all too much for her to handle, Jason and Danny. Jason and Jason. Jason, Danny, and the other guy. Jason, the other guy, and Sam. The weight of this reality is crippling, cause her heart and mind to split in two.
Running out of the room, Danny grabs Carly’s hands and skips down the hall with her.
Hearing “Daddy” come out of Danny’s mouth about Drew, crushes Jason. The word escaping Danny, makes Jason want to be shot. Anything would be better than hearing his son call someone else daddy. It was never supposed to be like this. Thinking of Jake, Jason fights back the tears as he watches Danny disappear down the hall; mouthing “this son was always supposed to be mine.”
Focused on Danny, Jason hears the buzzing of Drew’s ranting. Tuning back in, Jason turns his attention to a fragile, confused Sam. No acknowledgment to Drew, Jason’s only concern is Sam.
“I don’t know who you are, or what you want but you can leave. NOW!” Drew announces, positioning himself for an attack. He knows there is no stopping Jason from taking what is rightfully his, now that Danny has left the room. Drew knows the fight he has been preparing fives years for, starts now.
“Sam, are you ok? You never answered before.” The only thing Jason cared about since entering the hospital was making sure Sam was okay. Nothing else matters.
“You don’t get to talk to my wife. I said leave NOW.” Raging, Drew thinks about his life with Sam. Everything he has worked for the past two years will be for nothing if Sam chooses Jason. Pumping his chest, balling his fist, Drew stares Jason down. “Who are you? You show up here, upsetting my wife, my son.” Backstepping, Drew searches for Sam’s hands. “You think because you have my face, you can come here and take my life?” Taking her sweaty palm into his, Drew squeezes.
Jason doesn’t flinch, unbothered by the whole situation; he stares at Sam. He can feel the fear coming off her in waves, he can feel the tension brought on by Drew’s presence. Refusing to acknowledge Drew’s presence, Jason refuses to take his eyes off Sam. Sensing the shift in her soul, Jason fights the urge to fight.
“ANSWER ME.”
Drew’s words bounce off the walls, crashing into Sam.
Letting go of Drew’s hand, Sam grips the bed again. Her mind on a never-ending loop, Sam replays the last five years; fractured by the two Jason. Bracing for more yelling, Sam heart races. Her mind, disagreeing with her heart cause Sam to cry uncontrollably.
Jason and Drew move closer towards Sam.
“What in blaze hell is going on in here?” Charging into the hospital room, Nurse Epiphany Johnson gives Drew the evil eye. “What is all th the the,” Now I’ll be damned. Are you the cause of all of this?” Eyeing Jason up and down, Epiphany can’t believe what she is seeing; having no time to be shocked, Epiphany looks to a distraught Sam.
“Hello, Epiphany, and I’m afraid so!” Filling with joy to be recognized by Epiphany, Jason beams at her.
“Well, I’m going to ask you all to leave. The doctors prescribe my patient rest, and rest is what she’ll get. I want you both out.” Grabbing at both men, Epiphany demands they leave the room. Judging by the look, she got from Sam when she first enters the room; Epiphany can tell Sam wants them out too.
Looking to Sam for guidance, Jason lingers at Sam’s bedside. Jason respects Epiphany, but it’s about what Sam wants, not what Epiphany wants.
“Sam” Drew whispers, as Epiphany pushes him towards the door.
Looking from Drew to Jason, Sam becomes mesmerized by Jason. Lost in his presence, Sam ignores Drew.
“Sam? I’m not leaving; she is MY wife.” Seeing Jason and Sam’s love fill the room, Drew sidesteps Epiphany trying to rush Sam. The love Sam described in the beginning, was threatened to take over everything; threatened to suffocate Drew where he stood.
Lost in each other, Sam and Jason speak with their eyes.
“No one asked you to hop a flight to Bora Bora. You both can wait quietly in the hall. Sam needs rest!” Playing no games with either man, Epiphany grabs Drew before he can reach Sam. Unsure of the situation, Epiphany knows she needs to watch Drew more so than she needs to watch Jason. Fighting the urge to fight back, both men head for the door as Sam finds her voice.
“Wait, I want Jason to stay.” Stopping dead in their tracks, both look back at Sam; they both spin around hoping she was talking about them; they both look at her with longing eyes, hoping they’re the Jason she’s referring too.
“You need to rest, Sam. Maybe I should call the doctor for a sedative. You have had a long day.” Pleading with Sam, Epiphany can tell she is not listening to her. Epiphany can see what Sam wants and, it’s not rest.
“No, I don’t need any of that. I just need Jason.” Sam proclaims.