Jason is devastated when it appears he may have lost his son in a roadhouse explosion, but out of the smoke and ash comes Sam, holding the boy in her arms. Steve Burton (Jason) says "he did everything wrong by going in there and shooting things up. He's the one that caused the explosion.

A lot of things are going through his head, but first and foremost is that Jake is safe and alive.  Jason and Sam bring Jake back to PC, where a tender family reunion takes place. Rebecca Herbst H (Liz) says "They don't even reach the house before Liz runs out and grabs Jake from Sam's arms. The reunion is two-fold, as it also serves as Sam's contrition for last years turn of events. RH says "For Sam, this is a pivotal point that she's handing back the baby she wanted to get kidnapped. The bottom line is, Sam stepped up to the plate and I think now, Liz has completely forgiven her."  Liz isn't the only one who takes note of that, either. SB says "I don't know if forgive is the word he'd use. It's more like, 'You can let go and we can move on. Everything's okay.' It's a kind of forgiveness, but it's not something he would come out and say."

Greg Vaughan (Lucky) says, "It's every parent's nightmare, seeing their child in jeopardy."  Lucky is relieved for Jake, but upset that his girl Sam put herself in harm's way. "She's almost lost her life a couple of times now. But she's a tough broad and he knew what he was getting himself into."

Later, the participants are interviewed by federal agents, and Jason has a chilling tale for Liz about what happened on the road. RH says "She knows what's coming as soon as he pulls her aside. Jason gives her all the gory details. She keeps saying, 'Why do I need to know this?' And he gets upset and says, 'Because you need to know exactly how your son could have died.' But just because she knew it was coming doesn't make it any easier." SB says.

"The writing's on the wall" teases Burton. "The fact that Jake almost dies takes them right out of dreamland and it's time to get back to reality. There's no way this man can be around his son if Jake is going to have a good life. They're playing with fire and there's no good way to postpone the inevitable. They have to break up for good, once and for all."  Adds RH,  "It's not long or drawn out. It's just, 'This isn't working. We can't do this for the sake of the kids. Good-bye.' After all those years. It's very sad."

With Jason and Liz kaput, how do things stand with Lucky and Sam? Time will tell, as Lucky pulls Sam into a kiss and she surprises both of them by pulling away. GV says "Lucky knows that Sam's an action junkie. It gets her motor running. He wishes it was him that got her motor running instead of the Russians and the adrenaline of the hunt, but that's part of the package with Sam."

But don't get too excited too soon "JaSam" fans. As SB puts it, "You knew it would come to this, but this is a guy who just lost the closest thing to his family, so right now, rekindling anything or starting something new with anyone is a ridiculous question because there's got to be a mourning period. What kind of moron would he look like if he asked out Sam a week later [laughs]? Just like real life, real love doesn't just evaporate and disappear."

The Protector: GV says "Lucky would take a bullet for Liz, but Sam has brought out the adventurous side of Lucky."