Sam Toys With Lucky

Jason's trial heats up as Ric once again puts Sam on the stand in the hope that the scorned woman will unleash her fury in the form of damaging testimony against her ex.  Instead, much to Ric's frustration, Sam actually takes the high road and avoids saying anything that would incriminate Jason.  It becomes a battle of the legal eagles when Diane and Ric spend the rest of the day grilling one witness after another before delivering their closing statements and sending the jury off to deliberate.  For her part, Sam uses this break in the action to explain why she opted not to incriminate Jason.  "No matter how much she's hurting and who screwed her over, the last thing she's going to do is get on the stand and rat Jason out" explains Sam's portrayer, Kelly Monaco. After scoring a few points with Lucky, Sam confides to Maxie that while she's got her mind set on seducing Elizabeth's husband, there's a part of her that can't help wanting to make things right with Jason.

The Verdict Is In

It's a tense moment when the jury finally returns, but in the end, it's good news for Jason.  As Sam watches, her former lover celebrates having been found not guilty by sweeping Liz into a hug.  "She's disgusted", admits Monaco.  "That's when she pulls Liz aside and says, 'You know what?  This isn't over'.  "It could have been over, but Liz keeps rubbing it in Sam's face."  Not about to let Jason off the hook, Sam swings by the penthouse to let him know she plans to bed Lucky and that, as an added bonus, she might let it slip the truth about Jake.  "I'm surprised and appalled," says Steve Burton of this revelation. 

"This is how Sam self-destructs" says Monaco with a sigh.  "Her saying that to Jason is her self-destructing."  She says, "Why shouldn't I go sleep with Lucky? We're perfect for each other"  That sentiment seems especially true when Lucky once again is sucker punched upon seeing a newscast featuring his wife's post verdict hugfest with Jason.

Jason VS Lucky

The men in Elizabeth's life nearly come to blows when Lucky confronts his rival and accuses him of having an ongoing affair with his wife.  Although Jason denies such an involvement, he later admits to Spinelli that if Elizabeth's marriage failed and she wanted to move in with him, he'd be willing to give their relationship a shot.  "If Lucky and Liz separated for some reason, I don't think it would be out of the blue for her and Jason to try and work it out," speculates Burton.  Meanwhile, across town, Liz has a very similar conversation with Emily.  Are Jason and Liz finally about to get their shot a happily ever after?

Not So Fast

The undeniable facts about Jason's lifestyle are driven home for Liz when she and her sons have a nasty confrontation with two goons hoping to use her as leverage against Sonny's pal.  In a case of fortunate timing, Sam saves the day..only to later pay off the guys for the obviously staged attack.  Next thing you know, Jason is agreeing that it's in everyone's best interest that he walk away from Liz and Jake forever due to the dangerous nature of his lifestyle.  "That's not going to change."  says Burton, whose Jason then tells Sonny that he and Liz are over and he doesn't want to ever talk about the situation again.

Back home, Liz tells Lucky that she will never, ever be with Jason.  For his part, the cop admits that he's not ready to call it quits on their marriage just yet.  Of course, he has yet to discover the truth that could blow his world to smithereens.  "These two people have crossed a big hurdle," says Greg Vaughan, "but the biggest one has yet to be revealed."

Sonny Weighs In

As Jason and Spinelli work to find out who was behind the attack on Liz, Sam tries to make sure she covered her tracks.  Needing closure, Liz calls Sonny and asks that he take care of Jason for her.  But the response she gets probably isn't the one she anticipated:  Sonny rips into her for having mistreated his best friend.  Appropriately enough, the mobster suggests Liz stick to her guns and stay away from Jason from now on

Not one to rest on her laurels, Sam makes her next move by asking Lucky to be her bodyguard.  As Jason puts his life on the line to find out the truth about the attack on Liz, Sam steps up her plan by getting closer than ever to Lucky.  But will he give in to temptation?