Jax received a distressing phone call about his father, John. Apparently, John had lost his will to live. When Jax got to his father's bedside, John flashed a card to Jax, explaining that it was part of the lucky hand called the "Dead Man's Hand." John explained that the other four cards had been stolen. Jax, the dutiful son, promised John that he would find the other four for him. Jax headed to a local bar, where he met Samantha McCall, a very pretty, but feisty, woman. What Jax wasn't aware of was that Sam was on the lookout for the Dead Man's Hand because the cards had caused her family generations of bad luck.
Jax and Sam started off by playing poker, a game Jax won. Later on, Sam arrived at Jax's hotel room, and she stole the jack of diamonds card. Jax returned to the bar when he got a call from a mysterious caller, who was really A.J. Quartermaine. Jax learned that Sam's great-grandfather had killed Bill Hickock while he was holding the Dead Man's Hand. Jax was then knocked out, but he later awakened and confronted Sam on her boat. Jax managed to get his jack of diamonds card back from Sam. Unfortunately, they were forced to abandon the boat when it caught on fire. Jax and Sam took refuge on an island, and they called a truce during the time that they were stranded. However, Jax caught Sam attempting to steal the jack of diamonds card again.
Two surfers arrived at the island, and they began to harass Sam. Jax learned that the two men were out to get the Dead Man's Hand. Jax overpowered the men and tied them up; that was when he learned that they were trying to get the cards for someone in upstate New York. It was revealed that A.J. was the holder of the other four cards, and he had sent the men to retrieve the jack of diamonds. When Sam turned on Jax, she ran off, leaving Jax on the island with the two men. Jax returned to Port Charles, and he found Sam in his suite... dressed as a maid.
Sam and Jax challenged each other to find the other four cards of the Dead Man's Hand. Jax and Sam were becoming suspicious of A.J. So, Sam sneaked into the Quartermaine Mansion to find the remaining cards, and Jax snagged her. Then, A.J. caught Jax and Sam in the mansion. To avoid suspicion, Jax told A.J. that he and Sam were dating. Jax attempted to teach Sam to be more proper and ladylike to make their dating charade believable. However, A.J. wasn't so naïve because he had seen right through their lies. A.J. ordered Coleman to find out what Jax and Sam were up to. While Coleman was befriending Sam, Jax and Skye were discussing the Dead Man's Hand; at the same time, Luke Spencer, a fugitive Skye was hiding in her home, was eavesdropping.
When Jax and Skye left, Luke found the cards of the Dead Man's Hand enclosed in the pages of a book. Luke then took one of the cards, and left. After all of that, Jax got back the jack of diamonds card from Sam. Sam sneaked back into the Quartermaine mansion, and she overheard Dillon Quartermaine on the phone with his mother, Tracy. Dillon had stolen the remaining three cards from A.J. for Tracy. Sam confronted Dillon about the cards. When asked why they were so important to her, Sam gave him a false story, which was identical to Jax's real story, about how her father was dying and he needed the cards to live. Later, Skye stole the card Luke had stolen from A.J., and she gave it to Jax, which Sam spotted. Sam and Jax got into an argument about the cards, but they ended up in a liplock.
Meanwhile, Luke went to ask Dillon about the cards, but Dillon didn't reveal that he had them. To assure the cards' safety, Dillon's girlfriend, Georgie Jones, hid them in her bedroom. Skye told Luke that she wouldn't help him obtain the remaining cards. At the suite, Sam drugged Jax and stole the two cards he had from the Dead Man's Hand set. Later, Jax confronted Dillon and offered him three million dollars for the other three cards. At the same time, Sam arrived at Georgie's house, impersonating a math tutor. Georgie had been having trouble perfecting her math grade, so it was the perfect opportunity for Sam to search Georgie's room for the cards. Sam managed to get Georgie to leave the room briefly, and then she stole the remaining three cards. That was the moment of triumph for Sam: she had all five pieces of the Dead Man's Hand.
However, Sam would soon lose them all over again. A disguised Luke stole the cards from Sam. Then, he arrived at the Halloween Ball, dressed as a magician. In an illegal auction, Luke sold the Dead Man's Hand to Jax. However, all the auction attendees fainted when an odorless gas was pumped into the room via the vent. A person, wearing special equipment, walked into the room and stole the cards from Jax's hand. Later on, the person who had stolen the cards turned out to be Chase, a lover from Sam's past. Chase offered to give the cards to Sam for something in return: one night alone with her. Sam "accepted" the offer, and went to his motel room with him.
Sam planned on knocking Chase out, and stealing the cards from him so that she didn't have to spend the night with him. However, Jax's interruption prevented Sam from doing so. Jax picked her up, and carried her out of the motel room. Due to his actions, Sam began to suspect Jax of having feelings for her. Jax denied it. When Chase agreed to sell the Dead Man's Hand to Jax, Chase found out that they had been stolen. Outside of Jax and Chase's meeting place, Georgie and Dillon congratulated themselves for successfully stealing the cards from Chase without being caught, which was made possible because Dillon was a pickpocket. However, Jax caught them outside the club, and he told Dillon about the situation involving his dad and how the cards meant everything to his father. Dillon faced a tough decision: stay loyal to Tracy or help Jax save his father.
Dillon ultimately gave Jax the cards. Sam sneaked into Jax's car when Jax went to present the Dead Man's Hand to John. Jax caught Sam and, unfortunately, they ended up stranded in a desert. Jax wanted to get to his father's bedside, but Sam wanted to test the luck of the Dead Man's Hand at a casino. When Jax wasn't looking, Sam yanked cords out his car to sabotage it. Jax and Sam had no choice but to go into the casino. Sam tried convincing Jax that the cards were lucky, but Jax didn't believe it. However, Jax was shocked when he won a yacht. Jax then gave the yacht to Sam. Jax and Sam then made love.
Jax and Sam arrived at the hospital to give John the Dead Man's Hand. John woke up and saw his son. John was pleased to see Jax at his bedside, and he whispered, "Jax." Then John's machines began going off. Despite the doctors' best efforts, John ended up dying. Sam was plagued with guilt because she had prevented Jax from arriving at the hospital in time to save John. That night, Sam gave Jax comfort and they made love. However, Jax received a phone call, and he learned that Sam had sabotaged his car. Jax began pushing Sam away. Jax told Sam to take the Dean Man's Hand and leave town. Despite the opportunity, Sam didn't take the cards.
After Sam left, Tracy Quartermaine herself sneaked into Jax's hotel room and stole the cards. Sam arrived at John's funeral, and Jax told her that she wasn't welcome. Later on, Sam realized that someone had stolen the Dead Man's Hand from Jax's suite. Sam then caught Tracy leaving one of the cards from the set for Jax. Sam was about to hit Tracy when Jax arrived. After Sam left, Tracy asked Jax if he would want to be partners with her in opening a casino. Later, Luke and Skye teamed up to ensure that Jax and Tracy's plans wouldn't work.
Luke and Sam met up, and they had a dispute over the Haunted Star, the yacht Jax had won for Sam at the casino. Sam claimed that the yacht belonged to her, but Luke claimed ownership of it. Luke told Tracy that he had the one gambling permit allowed in Port Charles and that he planned to turn the Haunted Star into a floating casino. Skye convinced Sam and Luke to form a partnership to settle the dispute over ownership of the yacht. Meanwhile, Jax and Sam vowed revenge against each other. Despite that, Sam admitted to Skye that she had developed genuine feelings for Jax. Later, Jax gave Sam the Dead Man's Hand and told her that they couldn't be together anymore. Sam gave a homeless man the cards, but the homeless man turned out to be Luke in disguise.
Though Sam washed her hands of the cards, she found herself in another sticky situation. Sam was driving down the street when Sonny Corinthos, who had just tried to kill Lorenzo Alcazar, ran right in front of her truck and stopped her. Sonny then took Sam hostage and forced her to drive away from the crime scene. Despite how they met, Sonny and Sam soon became lovers, and it wasn't long before Sam became pregnant. Once Sonny and Carly reunited, Jason claimed the baby as his own, but it wasn't long before the truth was revealed.
Sam eagerly awaited the birth of her child, but was soon dealing with another secret -- years before, she had sought out her mother, who had wanted nothing to do with her, and her mother had died in a fire. Her stepfather, Stuart Mest, had implicated Sam in Evelyn's death, but the truth was that Danny, Sam's mentally challenged half-brother, whom Stuart and Evelyn had kept a virtual prisoner, was the one who had really set the fire. Sam was cleared and looked forward to raising her child, but then young Kristina got sick and desperately needed the stem cells from Sam's baby's umbilical cord, since no one in the families was a match. Although Sam was reluctant to risk the baby's life, she had finally agreed to have labor induced, but tragedy struck, and the baby died at birth. Thankfully for Kristina, the stem cells were still viable.
Sam grew closer to Jason after the death of the baby, whom she named Lila in honor of Lila Quartermaine, and the two even made plans to adopt "Hope," the infant daughter of one of Courtney's foundation kids. When Hope was returned to Bridget and her grandmother, Sam swore she would never forgive Jason and began moving away from him, and was even suspected of having kidnapped Michael, Kristina, and Morgan, but she and Jason eventually paired up in an attempt to get the kids back from Faith Rosco. While hunting for the children, Sam and Jason were able to put the past behind them and begin working on the future. They eventually tracked the kids back to A.J., the real killer, but were devastated when only Kristina and Morgan were saved. It wasn't long, though, before they realized Michael was still alive, and A.J. was on the run with him; the two followed him back to Port Charles. They were able to rescue Michael from A.J., who died after a fall while struggling with Jason, and Sam was able to reach out to Michael when he shut down.
Sam became suspicious after discovering that Michael's therapist, Dr. Asher Thomas, had also treated Jason years earlier, and he seemed to have a creepy fascination with her. She and Jason finally took Michael and left town after they realized that someone was making sure that Michael went to prison for A.J.'s murder. However, during their time away from Port Charles, they realized that Michael had created an imaginary friend named Jodie for himself that "knew the truth" about that night. When Sam was held in custody after going to the mainland for supplies, Jason had a breakthrough with Michael that led him to the realization that Dr. Thomas was connected to his own memories.
Sam and Jason took Michael back to Port Charles, and were immediately arrested. Ric was able to spring them. Sam and Jason realized that the truth about who had murdered A.J. was locked in Jason's memory, so against Sam's pleas, Jason took an experimental memory drug, and finally remembered when Dr. Thomas had tried to kill him. Jason ended up in the hospital, suffering the aftereffects of the drug, and when Sam interrupted Dr. Thomas' attempt to kill Jason, he took her hostage and fled. Sam was saved, Dr. Thomas was killed, and Sonny sent Sam and Jason on a vacation together.
Sam and Jason didn't get much chance to enjoy their vacation because they were kidnapped. Allegra needed Sam to impersonate her dead daughter, Alicia, and marry Alicia's fiancé, Andrew, so that Allegra could replenish the family coffers. Sam agreed, because Allegra was holding Jason hostage in her cellar, but soon learned that Alicia, a dead ringer for her, was alive and well. Sam married Andrew, but confessed the truth to him. She and Andrew made their way back to the mansion, but Sam later found a dead Andrew next to an unconscious Jason.
Sam was arrested and charged with Andrew's murder, but Allegra showed she had a heart, after all, when she arranged to free Sam, and had her own daughter, who was the real killer, imprisoned in Sam's place. Jason disappeared after suffering another seizure and losing his memory altogether; after a few red herrings, Sam followed him home to Port Charles. After Alan arranged to have Jason admitted to the hospital and restrained, Sam held a gun on Alan to get him to let Jason go, but Alan was able to convince her of the severity of Jason's condition. Sam was devastated when Alan and Monica told them both that Jason was going to die.
Sam called Jason's old girlfriend, Robin, who had become a specialist in brain disorders. Although her treatment was not successful in curing Jason on its own, the surgery Jason went through was able to do what nothing else had done before. Jason finally remembered Sam after falling in love with her all over again as an amnesiac, but the constant presence of Manny Ruiz, who had tortured them on their vacation in Hawaii and then ended up in Port Charles, began causing problems for them. Manny threatened Sam, even breaking into the apartment, and on more than one occasion Jason was close to killing him.
When the encephalitis plague hit Port Charles, both Sam and her brother Danny became ill. Sam nearly died, and tragically, Danny did die. Sam recovered after the serum made it to Port Charles, but blamed Alexis Davis for Danny's death, since Danny would have received the serum if Alexis hadn't turned it down. Danny's death also opened a new door in Sam's life -- as he lay dying, Danny told Sam about their parents having "chosen" her. She had Robin run a DNA test on her and Danny, and Robin confirmed that Sam and Danny were not biologically related.
Sam was devastated to realize she had been adopted and had never known it. Initially, Sam was hesitant to find her mother, but in the end, her desire to know was stronger than her fear of rejection. Her search led her to discover that her mother was none other than Alexis Davis, who had been forced by her father, Mikkos, to give up her baby for adoption. At first, Sam wanted nothing to do with Alexis. There was too much hurt and resentment between the women, and it didn't help that Alexis viewed Sam's relationship with Jason as unhealthy and bordering on abusive.
Alexis had good reason to be concerned about Sam's well-being with Jason. The homicidal maniac Manny Ruiz was stalking Sam. He'd become obsessed with her when he first laid eyes on her. During his crime spree, Manny targeted a number of Port Charles citizens, killing several. One night, while Sam was happily running into Jason's arms, Manny shot her. Sam was gravely wounded and rushed to General Hospital. Worried that the worst could happen, Jason decided to tell Alexis that Sam was the daughter she'd given up at birth. Alexis was stunned and became very protective of Sam.
When Jason blamed himself for Sam's shooting, feeling as if his lifestyle had put Sam in the line of fire, Alexis didn't argue. She agreed and pushed him to walk away from Sam so that Sam could have a chance at a long and happy life without all the violence and death. When Sam woke up, she was devastated to hear Jason break things off with her. She grew to resent Alexis for her role in the breakup but ultimately accepted Alexis' offer to move in and recuperate. Sam was torn between bonding with her new family and despising her mother for costing her the love of her life.
Confused, hurt, and frustrated over Jason's continual refusal to reconsider things, Sam started nurturing a friendship with her mother's husband and Jason's enemy, Ric Lansing. Ric and Alexis were having difficulty. Ric felt Alexis was being distant and cold toward him. Sam didn't care much for Ric, but she knew that Alexis did. Wanting to hurt both Alexis and Jason as they had hurt her, Sam started down a path she couldn't turn away from. Things reached a crisis point after Sam went to plead with Jason one more time to give their relationship another chance, and he pushed her away. Hurt, she returned home and ended up in a heated argument with Alexis, who cut Sam to the core with some ugly admissions.
After Alexis stormed out, Sam and Ric nursed their hurt with some alcohol. Before long, they were having sex on the living room floor. They did not realize that Alexis would return a short while later and see what was going on in her living room through the window. Nor did they realize that Jason had stopped by to talk to Sam in the hopes of reconciling, and he saw her on the floor of the living room with Ric. Later, after they were done, Sam got dressed and, feeling ashamed of herself, left Alexis' home. She went to see Jason and made it as far as the penthouse door before turning around and leaving. She couldn't bring herself to tell him just then. She did return the next day to confess, and learned that not only had Jason seen with his own eyes what had happened but that he had turned to Elizabeth Webber and spent the night with her in his penthouse. Sam was hurt but realized she had no room to judge him.
They decided to move slowly and rebuild their relationship but hit several stumbling blocks. The first was when Alexis revealed that she was suffering from stage three lung cancer and needed surgery. The next was Sam's arrest for a stolen flashcard. Ric had framed Sam in the hopes of using her to get to Jason. He showed Sam some surveillance pictures of Jason and Elizabeth, spinning it to prey on Sam's insecurities. In a panic, Sam fled custody and went on the run.
Jason soon caught up to Sam and helped her escape. Unfortunately, others caught up, as well, including Diego Alcazar. In an exchange of gunfire, Sam managed to kill Diego before he killed her, Jason, and Spinelli. Unfortunately, her little sister Kristina happened along and witnessed the violent crime. Before long, Jason and Sam were able to clear her name, and Sam tried helping her sister, who was in a catatonic state as a result of witnessing the shooting.
When things started settling down, Sam's desire to be a mother grew stronger. She'd never quite stopped wanting to start a family, but it seemed that the timing was always off. Certain that the time was right, Sam brought up the idea to Jason. She was surprised at his reluctance and somewhat hurt. Months earlier, Elizabeth had learned she was pregnant and there was a possibility that Jason could be the father. He'd offered to marry Elizabeth, but she had turned him down. Sam couldn't understand why Jason didn't seem to have a problem with having a child with Elizabeth but was reluctant to have one with the woman he claimed to love. Jason explained that the difference was in Elizabeth's case the baby had already been conceived. Jason just didn't feel it was right to plan to bring a child into his violent lifestyle.
With time, Sam convinced Jason to trust that they would protect their child. Unfortunately, by that time, Sam had received some heartbreaking news. Frustrated that she wasn't conceiving right away, Sam went to see a doctor and learned that her uterus had been severely damaged when she was shot the year before. There was extensive scar tissue that would make conceiving or carrying a child full-term impossible. Sam was crushed and needed time to come to terms with it before telling Jason. Before she had a chance to share the devastating news with Jason, gunmen seized the Metro Court hotel. Sam was working behind the reservation desk when it happened. She hit the silent alarm, which also triggered the vault to lock for 15 hours.
As the police surrounded the hotel, the gunmen terrorized the hostages. The leader was infuriated because what he wanted was inside the vault. Eventually Sam managed to escape and warn the police about what to expect inside. Moments later, the police stormed the lobby of the hotel just as it exploded. As a result of Sam's actions, a television producer courted her to host a new show called Everyday Heroes. Sam was flattered but initially reluctant. Amelia Joffee was persistent and finally convinced Sam to give it a try. What Sam didn't realize was that Amelia was the daughter of Bill Monroe, one of the five men she had married under various aliases and stolen fortunes from.
Amelia was out for revenge. She was convinced that Sam, at the time using the name Angela Monroe, had murdered Bill when he'd realized that she was about to steal his fortune. The truth was that Sam had killed Bill Monroe in self-defense. Bill had discovered that his money was missing just as Angela was preparing to leave town. There was an ugly confrontation in which Bill started physically abusing Angela and, during the struggle, she'd reached for a shotgun and fired. Angela had been arrested and tried for the crime, but in the end had been acquitted. Amelia was not satisfied with the verdict and intended to expose Sam for the fraud that she was. To make sure Sam suffered public humiliation, Amelia made sure Sam was put in the public eye.
As Sam's career flourished, her personal life fell apart. Learning that her eggs were not viable dashed all hopes of Sam ever having a biological child with Jason. Sam couldn't bring herself to tell Jason and instead looked into other options without discussing it with Jason. It was around that time that Sam's life as Angela began catching up to her. Desperate to keep Jason from learning about that period of time in her past, Sam started lying about various incidents rather than opening up to Jason. As time passed, they grew distant. Then one day Sam overheard a conversation between Jason and Elizabeth that would change everything forever. She learned that Jake Spencer was really Jason's biological son. The discovery shattered her.
Weeks later, Jake Spencer was kidnapped. By that time, Jason had been arrested for Lorenzo Alcazar's murder. Sam and Jason were barely speaking. Sensing she was losing Jason to Elizabeth, Sam hit rock bottom. When she saw the distraught mother she'd interviewed earlier that day about losing her daughter in a recent fire, take Jake out of his stroller while Elizabeth tied Cameron's shoe, Sam did nothing. She watched and returned to the studio. When the police questioned her about being in the park just before Jake's kidnapping, Sam lied and said she'd seen nothing. Her conscience, however, plagued her. Sam started drinking and ended up on Elizabeth's doorstep, trying to console the grieving mother. It was a disastrous decision.
Sam's behavior raised questions, and Amelia started suspecting Sam of kidnapping the infant herself. She went to Jason with what information she had on Sam, including all of her aliases and the marriage scams. Jason didn't feel that it proved Sam had kidnapped Jake, but he did wonder why Sam had hidden the information from him. Later, Sam went to talk to him and tell him about her life before she went to Port Charles. She was furious when she realized that Amelia had beaten her to the punch. After some angry words were exchanged, Sam stormed out of the police station. She ended up calling Alexis and getting some legal advice about her role in Jake's kidnapping, but Sam was careful not to let Alexis know what she had done. The news wasn't good. Sam realized she could face some serious charges.
Around the same time, Jason was released on bail. When Amelia called him with a possible lead on Jake, they raced to Maureen's house and found the baby. Jason was overjoyed to be reunited with his son. His joy soon turned to confusion when Maureen jumped to the conclusion that Sam had told Jason where he could find Jake. He asked Maureen to explain. She told him that she had seen Sam in the bushes when she'd taken Jake, and Sam had seen her. Jason was furious. He returned Jake to Elizabeth's waiting arms, but before he could talk to Sam, he was arrested for jumping bail then shipped off to the state penitentiary to await trial.
Sam realized she couldn't put off the inevitable and went to see Jason. She had no idea that he knew about her role in the kidnapping until she sat down and saw the anger on his face. Sam didn't deny it. She admitted to everything and let him see her anger. Jason didn't hold back. They traded angry words before Sam ended things and walked out. Things remained tense between them through the trial. Jason worried that Sam would be out for revenge and would deliberately incriminate him in Lorenzo's death. She didn't. In the end, Sam's testimony helped, rather than hurt, Jason's case.
The trial would reveal one truth that would cement the end of Jason and Sam. Elizabeth was forced to testify and had to admit that she had slept with Jason the summer before. Lucky was deeply hurt. With the truth out, Lucky naturally asked about Jake's paternity, but Elizabeth continued to lie. She and Jason had agreed to keep the secret to keep Jake safe from Jason's enemies. Nothing had changed with the revelation that they had slept together. Lucky and Elizabeth's marriage, already on shaky ground, began to unravel.
Sam was blinded by her own pain and focused all of her anger on Elizabeth. Determined to make sure Elizabeth had nothing, Sam hired armed goons to terrorize Elizabeth and the children in the park. She wanted the goons to pretend to kidnap Elizabeth and the children before Sam made a timely arrival and chased them away. Sam's intention was to remind Elizabeth that Jason's enemies lurked everywhere. Her plan worked too well. Jason, worried about the threat to Elizabeth and the children, started hunting down the men. With Spinelli's help, Jason was able to trace them back to Sam. Realizing the danger Sam had put Elizabeth and the children in, Jason confronted Sam. He threatened to kill her if she ever hurt Elizabeth and the boys again.
Sam couldn't believe that Jason would go that far. Then he issued the threat again. Sam blamed Elizabeth and was determined more than ever to ruin Elizabeth's life. Sam set out to seduce Lucky and quickly had him in her bed. The Spencer marriage fell apart, and Sam found herself drawn to Lucky more than ever. It bothered her how Lucky continued to think the best of Elizabeth, knowing she continued to lie about Jake's paternity. That resentment grew until finally Sam forced the truth out of Jason and Elizabeth.
Lucky was stunned and dropped out of sight to absorb everything he had learned, including the realization that Sam had known the truth for quite some time without telling him. When Lucky came around, he had a long talk with Sam. He told her that he intended to continue raising Jake as his own son, but he needed to know that Sam would leave Elizabeth alone for the children's sake. Sam agreed, but the damage had been done.
Elizabeth had repeatedly warned Sam to stay away from her children after learning from Jason that not only had Sam witnessed Jake's kidnapping but had also hired the men to terrorize her in the park. After leaving the hospital, Elizabeth went to Lucky's house to pick up her sons, and found Sam alone with Jake. Elizabeth was livid, but when Lucky walked in, Elizabeth kept quiet. She told Sam that she didn't want to hurt Lucky any further and would keep quiet as long as Sam stayed away from her children.
Later, Sam went to talk to Elizabeth, hoping to reach some kind of compromise so that they could both learn to live with each other. Elizabeth wasn't interested. What neither woman realized was that Lucky had accidentally overheard a part of the conversation. After Sam left, Lucky asked Elizabeth to give him the truth about Sam without trying to protect him. Elizabeth reluctantly told her about what had happened with Jake and then later in the park with the armed gunmen. Lucky was furious. He went home and found Sam waiting for him. He told her what he knew and told her it was over because he could never trust her around the boys again. To Sam's horror, Lucky then threw her out of his home.
Brokenhearted, Sam ended up on the docks and was attacked by the Text Message Killer. She managed to escape him but wound up being run down by a car. Luckily, her injuries weren't fatal. She was released from the hospital and went home, where the Text Message Killer was waiting for her. Sam was stunned to discover that the Text Message Killer was none other than Diego Alcazar, the man she thought she'd killed a couple of years earlier. Diego had survived the shooting and was targeting the women close to Sonny and Jason so that they would have a taste of the loss he had experienced when they ordered his father, Lorenzo Alcazar, killed.
Lucky and Sam, reconciled and they worked together to investigate counterfeit medication that was showing up in Port Charles. Sam and Lucky thought either Dr. Ian Devlin or Jerry Jacks could be connected to the counterfeit medication. Against Lucky's wishes, Sam went undercover and took a job landing shipments for Andrei Karpov, a Russian mobster who was smuggling drugs into Port Charles. Karpov no longer trusted Sam after the police intercepted one of Karpov's shipments.
Lucky was disappointed with Sam's decision to continue to investigate the counterfeit medications due to the danger the investigation posed. Sam planned to flirt with Jerry Jacks to obtain proof Jerry was smuggling drugs with Karpov. Sam tried to seduce Jerry in her hot tub and then steal his PDA, but Jerry was one step ahead of Sam. He planted evidence in Sam's apartment, and she was arrested for possession of illegal drugs.
Nikolas Cassadine bailed out Sam on Lucky's behalf. Sam confessed to Lucky that she would have slept with Jerry to obtain evidence, so Lucky left town to think about their relationship. When Sam was released from jail, Jerry kidnapped and imprisoned her on a boat. Jerry also strapped a bomb to her. Jason worked with Spinelli to rescue Sam. When Lucky returned to town, he was grateful Sam had survived. He forgave Sam for placing herself in danger once again.
Sonny killed Karpov, and Karpov's associates targeted everyone close to Jason and Sonny, which included Sam and Elizabeth. Jason arranged for Sam to take Liz and her boys into hiding at a cabin in the woods. The Russian mobsters found Sam and Liz and tried to enter the cabin. Sam and Liz engaged in a shootout with the Russians. During the fight, Karpov's associates kidnapped Jake. Sam and Jason found Jake at a different cabin, which had been rigged with explosives. Sam saved Jake's life when the cabin exploded.
One final associate of Karpov's named Sasha, remained in Port Charles. Sasha and Sam had an altercation, and Sam fell into a mineshaft. Sam injured her hip in the fall and was unable to climb out. Sasha was killed before she could reveal Sam's whereabouts, but Jason rescued Sam.
Lucky was frustrated with Sam's addiction to danger, and he was disappointed when Sam decided to become a private investigator. Sam and Lucky ended their relationship as friends when Lucky realized he still loved Elizabeth. Spinelli went into business with Sam, and they named their firm McCall and Jackal Private Investigations.
Jason hired Sam and Spinelli to determine who had shot Sonny's son Michael. Jason suspected Jerry Jacks was involved. Sam and Jason ran into Jerry when they traveled to Mexico to take Sonny's children, Michael and Kristina, home. The children had run away to Mexico when Kristina caused a car accident that had resulted in Sonny's pregnant wife, Claudia Zacchara, losing her baby. Jerry had made contact with Michael and Kristina because he knew Jason would show up wherever Michael was.
Jason was severely injured when Jerry shot him twice and a roof collapsed on him. Sam stayed in Mexico and took care of Jason. Sam and Jason became lovers again and they professed their love for one another. When they returned to Port Charles, Sam and Jason uncovered evidence that proved Claudia Zacchara, Dr. Ian Devlin, and Jerry had been behind Michael's shooting.
A mysterious artist called Franco began to cause trouble in Port Charles. Franco was obsessed with Jason. Franco kidnapped Sam and tied a bomb to her, and he planned to kidnap Carly also. Franco wanted to force Jason to choose one woman to save: Carly or Sam. When Franco was unable to kidnap Carly, he kidnapped Lulu Spencer instead. Sam and Lulu were each tied to a bomb, but they were on opposite sides of town. Jason saved Sam while Lulu's boyfriend Dominic, who was later revealed to be Dante Falconeri, a detective, saved her.
Sam helped Jason, Sonny, and Carly cover up Michael's involvement in the death of Claudia Zacchara. Claudia had kidnapped Carly as had gone into labor. Carly had delivered the baby in a deserted cabin, and Claudia had planned to steal the baby. Michael had found the cabin first and had killed Claudia to protect Carly and the baby. Sam and Jason had arrived shortly after. Sam had taken Carly and the baby to the hospital while Jason had dealt with Michael and with Claudia's body.
Eventually, the truth about Claudia's murder was revealed, and Michael was sent to prison. Jason made arrangements to join Michael in prison so he could protect him. Sam was heartbroken, but she supported Jason's decision. Sam and Jason considered getting married so they could have conjugal visits, but they decided against it. While Jason was in prison, Sam looked for information she could use to blackmail the judge that had sentenced Michael, so the judge would release Michael and Jason. Sam was able to stop her investigating when both Michael and Jason were released from prison, courtesy of Detective Dante Falconeri.
Sam was a supportive sister when Kristina's boyfriend, Kiefer Bauer, abused her. Kristina originally named Ethan Lovett as her abuser, which prompted Sam to attack Ethan. When Kristina later revealed it was her boyfriend, Kiefer, that had abused her, Sam stood by Kristina and helped Kristina move past the abuse. Sam also helped Alexis decide how to proceed when Kiefer died as a result of being hit by a car Alexis was driving. Alexis confessed and was able to avoid jail time.
When Jason's ex-wife, Brenda Barrett returned to Port Charles and moved into Jason's penthouse, Sam tried to give Jason space. Brenda needed protection from a European mobster named the Balkan. Jason asked Sam to investigate the Balkan, but Jason refused to share Brenda's secrets. Sam explained to Jason that she would understand if Jason wanted to rekindle his relationship with his ex-wife. Jason assured Sam he had never loved Brenda and never could because Sam had his heart.
In January 2011, Sam learned she might be able to have a child. Sam was a candidate for fertility reconstructive surgery. She and Jason went back and forth on whether or not they should be parents. They had already accepted a life without children.
The discussions about a baby were put on hold when Sam's sister Molly overheard an attorney named Theo Hoffman confess to being the Balkan. Sam and Jason went after the Balkan, and the Balkan kidnapped Sam. She was placed in the back of Sonny's limousine, which exploded. Since Sonny's limousine was bomb-proof, Sam emerged with a concussion, a few scrapes, and temporary hearing loss.
When Sam was released from the hospital, she got a lead on the location of one of Theo Hoffman's men. As Sam drove to investigate the lead, she suffered a severe headache while driving. Around the same time, Jason and Elizabeth's son Jake was hit by a car and killed. Sam thought she could be the one that hit Jake. DNA evidence cleared Sam, but revealed Luke Spencer was the driver.
Jason decided he was ready to be a father soon after Jake's death, so Sam underwent the fertility reconstruction. Sam still questioned if she was ready for motherhood. Her mother advised her against starting a family with Jason, due to the danger that constantly surrounded him. Sam wondered if she was already pregnant when she experienced some stomach cramping. A pregnancy test at the hospital revealed she was not pregnant. Afterwards, she and Jason both admitted they had hoped for a child.
Shortly after the conversations about having a child, Jason questioned Sam about her feelings on marriage. She insisted she was happy with their relationship the way that it was and did not need a piece of paper to confirm those feelings. Sam suspected marriage was on Jason's mind and she discussed the possibility of marrying Jason with her mother. Alexis surprised Sam by giving her blessing. Sam was surprised again when she met Jason for a rooftop picnic and he proposed. Maxie had lost the ring Jason picked out for Sam but she accepted a metal lug nut instead and accepted the proposal.
Sam and Jason slowly shared the news of their engagement. When Carly learned the news, she stormed into Jason's penthouse and confronted the couple about not telling her directly. Sam and Jason tried to set boundaries with Carly to honor their privacy as a couple and Sam's place in Jason's life. They asked Carly to only turn to Jason in an emergency instead of constantly barging in on him for simple problems. Carly was offended but she showed up again soon after and claimed she needed Jason's help because Jax had sneaked back into town to take her daughter Josslyn. Sam begged Jason not to go but he went along with Carly.
Shortly after Carly and Jason took off, they were involved in a car accident and Jason was rendered unconscious. Sam blamed Carly for the accident and the head trauma Jason suffered and accused her of being selfish. Jason underwent surgery and while he recovered, Sam's sisters and Maxie continue to plan the wedding, although several disasters occurred during the planning process and Maxie declared the wedding jinxed. Regardless, when Jason left the hospital, he and Sam remained on course to marry. Sam started to believe her wedding was doomed when Jason walked in and saw her trying on her wedding dress. She was overwhelmed until Jason took her on a motorcycle ride and they ended up at a Chinese restaurant. They lamented their wedding woes to the elderly couple that ran the restaurant and explained that they simply wanted to be married without all the fuss. The elderly couple's grandson shared that he was an ordained minister and he performed the ceremony on the back terrace of the restaurant. Sam and Jason exchanged rings that had once belonged to Jason's grandmother and his father.
On the day of the planned wedding, Sam and Jason showed up for their wedding together in casual clothes and announced they were already married. They returned back to the Chinese restaurant where they were married and held an informal reception with their friends and family. After the celebration, the newlyweds honeymooned in Hawaii and enjoyed a romantic time together until Carly, her daughter Josslyn, and her bodyguard Shawn showed up. Carly and Shawn claimed Franco had made contact with them and they suspected he was in Hawaii.
Jason searched for evidence that Franco was near until he received word Franco had been spotted far away from Hawaii. Carly, Josslyn, and Shawn returned to Port Charles while Sam and Jason stayed to enjoy the final days of their honeymoon. Sam and Jason were unaware that Franco had cameras set up and had watched them. While Jason and Sam were out planning romantic surprises for one another, Franco interfered with their plans. He drugged Sam and raped her while Jason was locked in a room and forced to watch.
When Sam recovered, she was confused by what had happened and could not remember seeing Franco. Jason told her what he had witnessed and he vowed to kill Franco for hurting Sam and blamed himself for not being able to protect her. Sam reminded Jason that what Franco had done to her was not his fault, although their relationship was strained as they ended their honeymoon and headed back to Port Charles. Franco also made his presence known in Port Charles and left graffiti tags around town with a message that referenced creation.
Sam understood Franco's message when she discovered she was pregnant by either Franco or Jason. She and Jason decided to have a paternity test run before they made the news of the pregnancy public and they were relieved to learn that Jason was the unborn child's father. Before they were able to fully celebrate the news, Jason suffered a health crisis and was admitted to the hospital where they learned he had inoperable brain swelling. His best hope for survival was for Robin to develop a drug therapy that Patrick could implant into his brain. Robin worked to create a miracle for Jason and she was killed when a fire broke out in her lab.
In the aftermath of Robin's death, Sam had to ask Patrick to do the impossible and proceed with the drug protocol Robin had given him before she died. In his grief over the loss of his wife, Patrick initially refused and blamed Jason for being the reason Robin had been killed. Sam begged Patrick to save Jason and shared with him that she was pregnant and did not want her child to miss the chance to know his or her father.
Patrick did agree to do the surgery and he expected Jason to make a full recovery. While Jason remained hospitalized after the surgery, Sam barred Carly from visiting Jason. She also made sure that all of Jason's visitors did not share the news of Robin's death. Sam decided that it would be best for Jason to hear the news after he had made a full recovery. Jason asked repeatedly to see Robin but each time Sam made an excuse.
Despite Sam's efforts to keep Carly away from Jason, she sneaked in and told him about Robin's death. Jason was furious that Sam had lied to him and made decisions for him. He took off from the hospital and went to the church were Robin's funeral had been held earlier in the day. Sam tracked Jason down and they had a heated argument. Jason took off while Sam remained at the church. A man named John McBain entered and although he was a stranger, Sam felt a connection to him and she shared her troubles with him. She regretted telling him about her marriage when she later learned that John was a police officer from Llanview Pennsylvania and he was in Port Charles to investigate Sonny's role in a car accident that had killed two citizens from Llanview.
Jason forgave Sam's decision to keep Robin's death a secret and he asked Sam to stay away from John. Both Jason and Sam were concerned about a video that had received while Jason was in the hospital. The video showed footage of Jason as a newborn and they believed it was a clue from Franco. Sam took a trip to New York and went to the hospital where Jason had been born to search for more information. When Sam looked at the hospital records for Susan Moore, Jason's birth mother, she realized that a portion of the records were missing. Sam realized that Susan's cousin Heather Webber had been present at the birth and paid Heather a visit at Ferncliff, the mental institution in which Heather resided.
Sam was shocked when Heather revealed that Susan had passed out after giving birth to Jason and was unaware that she had been pregnant with twins. While Susan remained unconscious, she delivered a second son that was Jason's fraternal twin. Heather gave the second baby to the nurse in exchange for the payment of Susan's medical bills. Susan was never aware that she had more than one baby. Heather told Sam that the nurse that had adopted the second baby was named Elizabeth Frank, although she went by Betsy. Sam immediately recognized the name, as Betsy Frank was Franco's mother.
The obsession Franco had with Jason was suddenly clear and Sam was horrified to realize that Franco and Jason shared DNA so the results of her original paternity test were moot. Sam struggled with what to do and she confided in John instead of Jason. She told him about Franco's involvement in their lives and her rape. John encouraged Sam to tell Jason everything that she had learned but Sam insisted she wanted to wait until she knew for sure who the father of her baby was. John informed her that would get her a sample of Franco's DNA from the FBI files so a more conclusive test could be run. Sam thanked John and she made arrangements to have another DNA test conducted without Jason's knowledge.
Although Jason was unaware of the new paternity test, Heather Webber learned of the test and threatened to tell Jason. Sam reminded Heather that she would be glad to tell Heather's son Steven about how she had sold Franco at birth.
When the results of the test came back, Sam was devastated to learn that Franco, not Jason, was the father of her child. She shared all the devastating news with Jason regarding his connection to Franco and the paternity of the baby. Jason was angry that Sam had not confided in him but instead had turned to John instead. When Sam pressed Jason to address the issue of her baby, he admitted that he could not commit to raising the child as his own and Sam moved out.
Sam moved in to the Rendezvous motel, which happened to be the same motel John was staying at. Unbeknownst to both of them, Ronnie Dimestico was also there but he was not alone. Ronnie had kidnapped Lulu Spencer and Sam accidentally discovered them. He took Sam hostage as well but the women worked together and convinced Ronnie to take them to the deserted Haunted Star casino. They left clues to their whereabouts which John and Lulu's husband Dante used to find them. Dante distracted Ronnie so Lulu was able to escape but Ronnie held on to Sam and threatened her and her unborn child. John intervened and killed Ronnie in order to save Sam.
After Sam's ordeal as a hostage, she and Jason continued to drift farther apart. Jason spoke to Elizabeth about his marriage while Sam continued to spend time with John. Eventually Molly and Alexis learned that Sam had moved out and she shared the truth about her marriage and how her baby was conceived by rape. Her family offered their love and support and Molly stepped in as Sam's birthing coach in Jason's absence.
Sam continued to reside at the motel and she was there with John on a stormy night when her water broke. The phone lines were down due to the storm and John helped Sam deliver her son in the motel room. Afterward, John left Sam and her son so he could get a car to transport them to the hospital but he never returned. Sam was concerned about her son's breathing so she took off with him on foot to find help.
Sam saw a road closed sign and headed toward a light in the woods that came from a small cabin. She placed her son outside the cabin while she went inside to seek help. As she entered the cabin, she passed out. When she awoke, Jason was by her side and she inquired about her son. He told her that her son had died but she demanded to see him. Jason placed the baby in her arms but she declared that the baby was not the child she had given birth to.
Jason took Sam and the baby to the hospital and an autopsy was ordered. As they awaited the results, Sam questioned why she had to endure the pain of losing another child and wondered if her son would have survived if John had returned to help her. The autopsy revealed that the baby had hemophilia although that had not shown up in any of the tests during the pregnancy but the cause of death was respiratory failure. Sam continued to wonder if her child might have survived if she had gotten her son to the hospital sooner.
Sam wanted to blame John for her child's death until she learned that he had not returned to help her because he had been severely beaten on his way to get the car. The men that had attacked him had been ordered to do so by Jason. She sent Jason away and refused to forgive him for what he had set in motion.
After the loss of her child, Sam returned to work and joined Spinelli on his current case which involved an investigation of Heather. Sam told Spinelli about the grudge Heather held against her and admitted that she would love to find evidence that would send Heather back to Ferncliff. Spinelli and Sam realized that Heather and Todd Manning shared some sort of connection so Sam went undercover as Todd's assistant at Manning Enterprises.
Although Sam tried to focus on work, she contemplated the future of her marriage and she continued to confide in John while Jason leaned on Elizabeth. On the Fourth of July, San and John comforted one another and shared a kiss, unaware that Jason had witnessed it. Jason responded by kissing Elizabeth and Sam contemplated the removal of her wedding ring after she learned about the kiss.
Sam shared her feelings about Jason with her family and she admitted that she still loved her husband but she was unable to forgive him for his role in what had happened to her baby. As she continued to think about the state of her marriage, Sam moved forward with her investigation into the connection between Heather and her boss. Jason discovered Sam breaking into Todd's safe and she informed him of her suspicions about Todd and Heather and that somehow they were connected to her baby.
Sam was unable to find anything in Todd's safe but her employer sensed that she had searched his safe and he fired her. At that moment, John entered and assaulted Todd as payback for his interference in John's relationship with his girlfriend and child. Todd had sent John's girlfriend a picture of the kiss that John and Sam had shared and afterwards John's girlfriend refused to speak to him and denied him access to his son. Sam arranged for her mother to represent John after he was arrested for the assault. She also faced her mother's interrogation regarding her feelings and Sam admitted that she felt something for John but she was not in love with him because she still loved Jason.
Jason and Sam tried to work out their feelings for one another but the couple decided to file for divorce after they were unable to reconcile their differences. Jason was not willing to accept Sam's friendship with John and she continued to blame him for her son's death. Sam wondered if she and Jason still had a chance at happiness after the spent what they believed were some of their final moments together when they were both sickened with a deadly toxin that Jerry Jacks had placed in the water supply. Sam and Jason both survived and Sam tried one last time to save her marriage. She decided to move forward with the divorce after Elizabeth falsely led her to believe that Jason had moved on.
Sam sensed that Jason was keeping something from her and she assumed it was his relationship with Elizabeth. He was actually following up on the possibility that her son was still alive. Jason, along with John and Spinelli, confirmed that Sam's living son had been switched at birth with Téa Delgado's deceased child. Jason theorized that Heather and Todd had made the switch while Sam had been unconscious after giving birth. Jason shared the joyous news with Sam but her joy was tempered when she learned that Heather had kidnapped her son.
Together Jason and Sam rescued the baby from Heather and Sam named her child Daniel Edward Morgan. She decided to move back in with Jason as his wife and they planned to raise Danny together. On their first night home as a family, Jason was called to the docks for a meeting with his accountant. He was shot and fell into the harbor. Although his body was not recovered, he was presumed deceased. Sam refused to give up on Jason and continued to search for him. As she dealt with Jason's absence, she learned that Heather had altered her paternity test and that Jason was her son's father.
As time passed, Sam was forced to accept that Jason was gone. She spent time with her family and helped care for John after Lucy Coe accused him of being a vampire and stabbed him. Lucy insisted that John was a vampire named Caleb Morley and that Sam was actually Livvie Locke, the target of Caleb's obsession. Both Sam and John assumed that Lucy was mentally unstable and dismissed her rants until John was accused of several crimes, including two murders.
In the meantime, Heather Webber escaped once again from Ferncliff and kidnapped Danny. After Heather took Danny, John's doppelganger Caleb took the child but Todd Manning managed to rescue him. Once Sam was reunited with her son, Caleb reappeared and kidnapped both of them and took them to Spoon Island. Caleb insisted that Sam was his wife Livvie and claimed that she would remember their life together after her bit her three times. He managed to bit her twice before John and Lucy rescued her and Danny. Caleb, who was actually a psychiatric patient named Steven Clay, was killed during the rescue.
