Everything ached.

They'd spent the night in the hospital, curled up in a tiny single bed, nurses coming in every hour to wake Sam, ask him questions. "What day is it?", "Where are you?" and "Who are you?" The last one he always answered the same way, "Ali's husband." The response annoyed the nurses but sent chills across Ali's skin and soul each time.

She hadn't changed her last name, that wouldn't happen until they repeated their 'I do's' in front of family and friends, but officially she was a Harrington. And it felt amazing to acknowledge the fact Sam was her husband, even if the proclamation was only to a collection of random nurses.

Unlike her, he'd managed to capture a little shut eye between the nurses' interrogations. Ali simply couldn't take her eyes off Sam, afraid if she closed them something might go wrong. The thought was irrational; she spent hours watching his chest rise and fall in a rhythmic pattern, never letting go of his hand. He was alive, and considering what happened, remarkably unharmed. But the notion of him not being fine hung in the air still, covering her skin like a fine dust she couldn't remove no matter how hard she rubbed at it.

Pressure on her fingers. She met bottle green eyes. "Why are you so far away?" Sam tugged at her arm. "There's plenty of room over here."

There wasn't, but she couldn't deny the request. Careful of the various wires attached to him, she snuggled in beside her husband. "Better?"

At a snail's pace, he ran a finger up her bare arm. The gentle touch sent shivers down her spine as those long digits sank into her hair, asking her to look at him. "Much."

Soft velvet lips teased her mouth and despite the location, the notion a nurse could come in at any time, she leaned into him for more. Her hand tracing his shoulder muscles, the lines of his neck and landing at the base of his skull. Never in a lifetime or three would she tire of being kissed by Sam Harrington. From the first time he'd held her in the cabana, pressed those luscious lips slowly and sweetly against hers, he'd showed her through touch a far different form of seduction. Opened a whole new world to her, one she never dreamt possible until this blond bombshell tore down her walls and worked his way into her heart.

When they broke apart, there was that ever present sense of loss, of tearing herself away from her soul she'd felt from their very first kiss. Follow up kisses on her cheek, ear, neck sent more shivers through her body. Ali knew she'd have to put a stop to Sam's trajectory, or they'd be giving the next nurse quite the show.

"My love. We... oh... we have to stop."

"I don't want to." More kisses against the spot on her neck that sent signals to her core, pooling heat there. "Or more I want to."

"I can tell." More than his lips had sprung to life, and it was all she could do to not take advantage of the new growth to ease the burning desire building inside her, get lost in all things Sam-esque.

"Well, what do we have here?"

Ali buried her face in the crook of Sam's neck as heat blossomed on her cheeks at her mother's words.

"Hi Mom," Sam said.

"Nice to see you... awake, son." There was far too much enjoyment in her mother's tone. And when had they started the mom/son talk? Ali forced herself to extricate her body from Sam's arms, out of his bed and into a more respectable stance.

"Morning mother." To Ali's surprise, Lynn came forward and wrapped her arms around her daughter, the soft cotton of her mother's shirt brushing against her chin. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course," Lynne pulled back, blue eyes so like her own blinked. "I'm here for you." A weak smile graced her lips. "and Sam. For both of you."

At a loss for words at her mother's rare moment, Sam stepped in, "We appreciate the ride, Lynn."

The older woman let go of Ali and walked over to the vacant chair, plopping herself into it. "How long until they discharge you? I thought we could go for lunch at the club. Celebrate."

And the moment was gone. Lynn Stinson back thinking about herself, her own wants. "Mother, I don't think Sam is up for gallivanting around town. He should..."

Then the last word her mother said registered. Her stomach did a little flip, her fingers tingling. Sam found her hand and took it in his. The word spilled from her mouth slowly and quietly, almost afraid to speak it. "Celebrate?"

"We should mark the moment, don't you think?"

Another flip. Could it be possible? Had she really done it? Or was her mother counting her chickens before they hatched. "Mark what moment?"

"Why getting Stinson Studios back, of course?" Her mother's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Spencer did call you, right?"

She shook her head, not quite ready to believe her mother yet. "My phone died after you left last night. I... they... mom?"

Lynn slowly rose out of her chair, crossed the room and for the second time, hugged Ali. "You did it, baby girl. Jack insisted the meeting continue after we left, wanted the votes counted immediately. Probably thought since you didn't get a chance to answer their questions, he had some advantage. Either way, didn't matter in the end, did it? The shareholders chose your proposal."

"They did?"

Lynn bobbed her head.

"I won?"

"You won."

Ali said the words out loud again, trying them on for size. "I won." Louder this time. They felt good.

Her mother raised her hands as if she were showing off her prized possession to a potential buyer. "Yup. Say hello to the new CEO of Stinson Studios."

From behind her, Sam spoke. "Hello Ms. CEO."

Ali perched on the side of the bed, the meaning of those words sinking in layer by layer. With the help of her friends, her proposal hit a home run. The shareholders recognized the value of preserving the legacy generations of her family built. They entrusted her to take Stinson Studios into the future, her family's company was safe, back in the hands of a Stinson. Her hands. Nora and Lester's jobs were safe. She had sole control of a multi-million-dollar company, no false partnership with her ex-husband needed.

She beat Jack.

At his own game.

Ali Stinson won against Jack Blackhorne.

A giggle escaped her lips. Followed by another and another, she couldn't stop them. Didn't want to. The joy of being finally free of the man who'd been the source of such pain for years surged through her, erupting in peels of laughter. A wide smile spread across her mother's face as she joined in on the laughter. A nurse entered the room, paused at the sight of the two women chuckling like schoolgirls, turned around and retreated.

Fingers wrapped around her hand squeezed gently. Ali caught her breath and turned towards the man she loved. The man who possibly saved her life. The man who definitely changed it. Sweet, sweet Sam.

"I never doubted you, my love."

Unwinding her fingers from his, she bracketed his face with both hands and took his lips with hers. Sam didn't waste a moment, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer.

"Oh, not this again!" exclaimed her mother.