Tom's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "Um, excuse me? You don't know who you are?" He looked incredulously at the angel and shook his head. "You REALLY don't know who you are?!"

"No," she replied softly, "in fact, the only things I do seem to know right now is that you are Tom, and that this is Charlie," she touched Charlie's head, "and that I am very hot and thirsty." With that she tossed back the sheet and tried to stand, but she was weak and unsteady. Tom caught her just as she was ready to topple forward, his arm wrapping around her bare stomach. The feel of his warm flesh touching her even warmer flesh caught both of their attentions, and it was then that she looked down at what she was wearing - or more accurately - what she was not wearing. She looked back up at Tom in shock, "Is this all I was wearing when you found me?"

Tom felt a blush go over his cheeks as he imagined how this must look to this young woman. He had just tried to reassure her that he wasn't a pervert. Yet here she was, wearing next to nothing, and - although she wasn't sure of much at the moment - she was most likely certain that she had not gone out in her underwear, so that meant that he had stripped her of her clothes!

"Um.... Well, um...no, you had on clothes when I found you, but you were soaked... chilled to the bone, actually, and I was afraid you'd die of pneumonia if I didn't get those wet clothes off of you...so I took them off.... And they're over there..." he pointed to a chair by the fireplace, "but they aren't quite dry yet...they're kinda dirty from the river and the mud and all, but I don't think they're torn or anything...Oh, God!… I promise I didn't try anything...!" Tom was once again rattling on. What was it about this woman that made him feel so flustered? he wondered.

She smiled softly at him, and then gave a small laugh, "Well, actually I wasn't so worried that you had taken advantage of me as much as I wondered if I'm an exhibitionist, or something."

Her smile made Tom's heart do a flip-flop, and his mouth went dry. Suddenly, he felt like an awkward teenager who had just found himself face-to-face with the most beautiful girl in school, instead of a mature, self-assured federal agent who was capable of life-and-death decisions daily. God, what was happening to him? Get a grip, man! he berated himself.

"Um...well, um...that's good!" Tom laughed self-consciously, then he added, "I think it might be too soon for you to try doing a marathon, so why don't you lie back down for a while longer." He tried to guide her back onto the makeshift bed on the floor, but she stopped him.

"Actually, I think I'd like to try sitting up, if you don't mind," she said, almost apologetically.

Tom swallowed hard and tried to think. He found himself getting lost in her incredible doe eyes, and his mouth was so dry now that he could barely spit out the words, "Mind? Oh, of course, not! You can do anything you want!" He helped her to the overstuffed chair next to the couch. "You sit here while I put the cushions back on the couch, and then you can sit *there.* That way if you feel tired you can just lay back down without having to actually get back up again." Tom started grabbing couch cushions and began furiously throwing them back on the couch, as the young woman watched him with an amused look on her face.

"You're very sweet to be taking such good care of me when you don't even know me," she said, as he assisted her to the couch.

"Well, you don't even know yourself, so I guess someone needs to take care of you!" he replied, and then felt embarrassed about his flip remark and immediately wished he could take it back.

She let out a deep, throaty laugh at his joke, and Tom suddenly felt very warm, and he knew it was no longer just from embarrassment. Her sexy laugh, combined with her scantily clad body being in such close proximity to him, was wreaking havoc with his body. He stepped back from her quickly.

"I don't think your clothes are quite dry yet, but, here -" He took off his blue, chamois shirt and handed it to her, "You might be more comfortable with something on." I know I'll be more comfortable! he added, silently to himself.

"Thanks!" She took the shirt and put it on. "So, you not only save my life, but now you give me the shirt off your back!" she giggled, as she buttoned up Tom's shirt.

Tom smiled broadly at her joke. God! I'm in heaven! he thought. Not only was this woman gorgeous after having just been at death's door, but she even managed to keep a sense of humor about all of this. Beautiful, sexy, and a sense of humor - all the things he had ever wanted in a dream girl, and now here she was. And she wasn't just a dream; she was real! He was starting to feel that his luck was looking up!

"Tom..." The sound of her velvety voice calling his name brought Tom out of his fantasy fog.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Do you suppose I could have something to drink?"

"Ohmigosh! Of course! You're thirsty - you already said that before, didn't you? I'm sorry!" He ran over to the stove where a steaming kettle of water sat, and he proceeded to take a tea bag out of a canister and put it into a mug. "I have some hot water all ready, and I'll make you some tea. How do you take it?"

Tom turned around to at the sound of her laughter as she replied, "I have no idea how I take it!"

Tom chuckled, too. "Oh, yeah, I forgot!" And then they both laughed again at this further unintentional jab at her memory loss.

Tom suddenly felt happier than he could ever remember being in his life. He was in a remote cabin in the midst of a hurricane with a woman whom he had saved from death's door literally just hours before, and he was having the time of his life! Who would have thought that was possible? It was incredible! He felt so comfortable with this woman, like she had always been in his life - like she was always meant to be in his life. That last thought made him positively giddy. Maybe fate had finally stepped into Tom Langan's life and given him the grand prize, rather than the booby prize, for once. This woman was truly an angel sent to him!

He finished steeping her tea, put a spoonful of sugar and a little milk in it for good measure, and then walked over to hand it to her. "Here you go, angel! I hope that you'll like it this way!"

She looked at him, surprise in her eyes at his nickname for her. "What did you call me?"

Tom stopped, and the blood drained from his face as he realized that he had actually called her "angel," out loud and to her face. Oh, God! He really was back to being that gawky teen who always managed to stick his foot in his mouth around girls he wanted. Girls he wanted? For heaven's sake, man, she nearly died! he reprimanded himself. She did die - technically! God! Not only am I a fool, I'm a ghoul! he thought.

"I, uh...I..." he stammered. "Well, Charlie and I needed to call you something, and you reminded me of the porcelain angels my mom collected when I was a kid, and so I started calling you 'angel.' I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be offend you, or anything..."

She touched his hand gently. "I'm not offended at all. In fact, I'm very flattered that you think I look like an angel. And I really can't remember my name, and you can't very well call me 'Hey, You!', can you?"

Tom relaxed, as he realized she had no clue as to the significance of "angel" as a term of endearment.

"Angel..." she repeated softly, "I think I like that." And then she flashed Tom another heart-flipping smile as she extended her right hand out to him, "Hi, Tom! My name is Angel, and I'm so glad you found me."

Jerry spread his long arms over his head and stretched, trying to work the kinks out of his back from having spent the night on Brenda's couch. He couldn't really say that he had slept there because he had gotten no more than a quick cat nap all night, between the storm that thrashed outside and his own emotions that kept thrashing inside.

Jerry shared Jax's pain in losing Brenda. He had quickly grown to love Brenda as a sister, after having first been at odds with her over Jax, and her allegiance to him. At first, Jerry hadn't been sure if Brenda's affections for Jax were genuine, especially after the dark, Sonny Corinthos period in her life. But she had easily proven him wrong in his assumptions that she would once again dump his brother and run back to Corinthos the minute he wanted her again. She truly had loved Jax with her whole heart and soul, and she lived every minute of every day of the past several months wanting to put Jax's happiness above her own - so much so that she had mistakenly tried to be "noble" and make Jax promise to leave her so he could live a "normal" life if she were found to have the gene for her mother's illness. But Jax had explained that he would never leave her, and that he would love her in sickness and in health, until death. "Until death..." Jerry repeated aloud. He doubted that even death could make Jax stop loving Brenda.

Once, during the night, Jerry had crept upstairs to check on Jax. He had found him asleep in the middle of Brenda's four- poster bed; her lavender, silk robe thrown over him; her pillow in his arms; and the picture of the two of them on their last trip to Malibu that Brenda kept on her dressing table, on his chest. Jerry's heart had broken at the sight. Jax had looked so vulnerable, and so alone, and so like he had when he was a little boy, that Jerry had wanted to stay there with him and be his rock. But he had known that, for some reason, Jax needed to do his mourning in private, and so he had left as quietly as he had arrived. Jax had lost so much that night, that Jerry knew that he had no right to also rob him of his privacy. But after that Jerry couldn't keep the that image of Jax, surrounded as best he could by Brenda, out of his head, and he was unable to sleep the rest of the night.

Jerry sighed heavily as he headed toward the kitchen to start yet another pot of coffee. "If I drink much more of this stuff, I'll NEVER be able to sleep again!" he muttered aloud. But he knew that more coffee was going to be a necessary evil for him for the next few days, as he would need to keep going for as long as Jax needed him to keep going. But it was no sacrifice to go without sleep for Jax. Jax was his brother, and he needed him, and Jerry would gladly give up his own heart if it would help Jax in some way. He smiled sadly at that ironic thought. "If only I could exchange my whole heart for your broken one, little brother," he whispered aloud.

Jerry plugged the coffeemaker back in and then returned to the living room, just as Jax was coming down the stairs. He was startled at Jax's appearance. He had expected him to look bedraggled and worn, but instead, Jax was freshly showered, shaved, and appeared to Jerry to be almost serene - for lack of a better word

"Jax, how are you doing this morning?" Jerry asked, wondering what had happened with Jax between the time he had checked on him in the night and now, that would have brought about this miraculous transformation. If this was the result of merely a good night's sleep, then Jerry wanted to be next in line for one of those.

"I'm better this morning, Jerry. I'm sorry that I was so harsh with you last night, but I needed to be alone to think. I appreciate that you stayed here all night to act as my babysitter, but it really wasn't necessary at all. In fact, you can go now. I'm a big boy, and I can manage just fine on my own. Besides, I have some arrangements to make, and it would probably be best if I handle them alone."

Jax seemed intent on dismissing Jerry, but Jerry had no intention of leaving Jax now. He had promised his parents that he would not leave Jax's side until they arrived, and he wasn't about to break that promise.

"Is that the kind of man you are, Jasper Jacks?" Jerry started, hoping to lighten the tension somewhat. "You let me spend the night and then you send me out the next morning, without even so much as a hot breakfast? And into a storm, no less? I thought Mum raised you better than that!"

Jax smiled for the first time since this whole nightmare had begun. "Okay, Jerry. You're right. I should at least let you stay for breakfast, but don't expect me to cook. I have things I have to take care of before it gets much later."

Jax walked over to the desk in the corner where his brief case was sitting, and opened it and took out his day planner. He turned back around to see Jerry, still standing near the kitchen door, staring at him. "What's the matter, Jerry? Forget where the kitchen was? I thought you were planning to make us some breakfast."

Jerry was trying to figure out exactly where Jax's head was right now, but instead of pushing Jax, he simply played along with the conversation as Jax had left it. "No, I was just wondering how you wanted your eggs - scrambled or sunny-side up?"

Jax laughed. "Scrambled, of course, and make lots of them! I'm starved! And I want two toasted English muffins - Brenda keeps them on the left side of the freezer compartment - and squeeze us some orange juice while you're at it! I picked up a few juice oranges for Brenda and me just the other day, and they're in the fruit bowl on the counter near the stove."

Jerry was truly puzzled now. Jax was acting like this was a normal day; like the tragic events of the previous night had never happened, and that Brenda's absence from her own house was due to an out-of-town photo shoot, rather than her death by drowning in the Charles River. But he thought it best not to push. Perhaps Jax had just decided that he needed to put on a positive face for him this morning, and, if so, Jerry would let it slide - at least until after breakfast. He knew that Jax hadn't eaten anything since before the accident, so this hearty breakfast would be just the thing for him. Besides, Jax had said that he needed to make arrangements and he wanted to be alone to do that, so Jerry went back into the kitchen to allow Jax a modicum of privacy to arrange Brenda's memorial service.

But after a few minutes, Jerry realized that he couldn't find a whisk or a spatula anywhere, and he opened the kitchen door to ask Jax where to find them. Jax was sitting on the couch with his back to him and the phone in his hand - talking to the minister, Jerry presumed. But then he overheard Jax's instructions to the party on the other end of the phone line, and it sent a chill through Jerry's body as he realized the reason for Jax's sudden transformation.

"Yes, you heard me. I want to spare no expense in finding her. I know that she's out there, and she's alive. She just needs me to find her..."