Georgetown, New Year's Eve…

"He's not coming!" Ariel wailed as she gulped down a glass of champagne and slammed the empty glass down onto the marble bar in her parents' Georgetown home. A New Year's Eve party was underway, and Jax, Brenda, Scott, Trey, and Jerry had all been invited, but had so far failed to show up.

"You don't really think Jax would come here knowing you're here, do you?" her sister Flossie baited her. "He warned you that he'd terminate your friendship if you insulted his wife, Ariel, and you just couldn't resist, could you?"

"I apologized to Jax for that!" Ariel said. "Several times. Why, I even apologized to that little hussy wife of his!"

"Oh, that's nice. Very nice, sis," Flossie said with a roll of her eyes. "Even now you can't refrain from insulting the girl that man adores. You know, I've always liked Jax. And obviously someone upstairs likes him, too. They saved him from you," Flossie said as she took a glass of bourbon and walked away to mingle with the other intoxicated, happy guests.

"Oh, shut up!" Ariel snapped to her sister's retreating back, and then Ariel turned towards the door hopefully, as the doorbell chimed. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Jerry. "Jerry! Welcome!" she said, rushing to greet him and peering behind him to catch sight of Jax.

"Who're you lookin' for, luv? It's only me," Jerry said, handing his coat off to the butler. "And I only showed up because my brother kicked me out of his house."

Ariel narrowed her eyes. "Jax isn't coming?"

"Absolutely not."

"Trey or Scott neither?"

"Scott, quite frankly, does not like you. And Trey went back to jolly, old England hours ago - although I suspect were he here, he would not have shown up either. The not liking you thing again, luv."

She scowled at her ex-fiancé's brother. "Did Jax really kick you out of his house? Why? Did he and Brenda have some kind of fight?" she asked eagerly"

"Noooo. My kid brother's got a lot of celebrating to do this night actually," Jerry said with a huge, silly grin.

Ariel nodded. "Oh. Successful mission, hmm?"

"Well, yes - that too," Jerry said, still wearing the silly grin.

"All right, Jerry Jacks! Obviously you have something you want to gloat about, so just spit it out then, damn it!" she said crossly, folding her arms and tapping her foot impatiently against the marble floor.

"Well . . .if you insist," Jerry said, walking away from the surprised Ariel, grabbing a glass of champagne from the bar, and stepping into the center of the room. He grabbed a shrimp fork from a nearby plate of shrimp cocktail and clanged the fork lightly against his glass to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, may I have your attention for a moment please? I have an announcement," Jerry said.

Ariel's mother walked over to Jerry and motioned for her husband to turn the music down. "Well, we're so glad you could make it, Jerry," she said, kissing his cheek. "So what's the big announcement? A New Year's resolution of some sort? Or - oh my! -Are you following in your brother's footsteps and removing yourself from the bachelor pool?"

Jerry laughed. "No, not yet." He turned his attentions back to the roomful of guests. "Ladies and gents, I'm tickled pink to announce to you this night that I am going to become an uncle! My brother and his beautiful wife are expecting their first child nine, glorious months from now. They just found out today!" Jerry said, as everyone cheered and clapped at the happy news. Ariel stood in the midst of the stream of happy champagne toasts to Jax and Brenda's baby, her mouth open in shock and humiliation and her insides boiling.

Ravenswood, New Year's Eve...

Soft white candles surrounded the deep bathtub of warm, lavender-scented bubbles. Brenda sat in the tub, beneath the bubbles, sheltered and treasured in the circle of Jax's arms, his fingers emerging from the bubbles to skim delectably across her stomach, while his lips trailed provocative kisses down the side of her neck.

She let out a sigh of pure contentment, as her head rolled back against the muscular frame of his glistening, wet chest.

"It's too good to be real," she said, one of her hands resting atop each of his knees.

She felt his smile against her skin. "What is?" he asked softly.

"Everything," she said with a happy shrug. "Everything that you have brought into my life ever since I met you."

Jax laughed. "Could you be more specific?"

Brenda shook her head. "Nope. Everything."

Jax laughed again. "Speaking of everything . . . Do you know that you are mine? My everything," he said, pulling her closer as he rested his chin atop her dark hair and inhaled the fascinating scent of her shampoo. "Both of you," he added, grazing his fingers sensually across her stomach.

"I still can't believe it," Brenda said. "We're going to have a baby! I don't think I've ever had a bigger 'Oh my god' moment in my life than in that doctor's office today - Well, except when I found out you were my husband," she said with a grin. "And you knew… About the baby, I mean. Even though we always use protection, and I was so sure I could not possibly be pregnant… you knew I was, Jax. How?"

"Well, as much as I would love for you to think of me as omnipotent, I didn't really know, sweetie. I wondered. I hoped. I… guessed," he shrugged. "Or maybe there really is something to this wishing business…?"

"Just think about it, Jax. You and I - me and you - are going to be mommy and daddy to some perfect little thing nine months from now," Brenda continued, fascinated by her own thoughts. "And I know this baby will be perfect because it's yours."

"Then, it goes without saying it will indeed be perfect," Jax agreed, causing Brenda to laugh and tilt her head back so that their eyes met.

"Are you scared?" she asked him.

Jax shook his head. "No."

She smiled at him. "Me neither. Although maybe we should be. Neither of us has ever been a parent before, Jax." Then her eyes narrowed as she said," Unless there's something you need to tell me?"

Jax touched his lips to her frowning forehead. "I don't have any secret children wandering the world. This will be my first endeavor into the world of fatherhood," he told her.

"And you're still not scared?"

"No."

She laughed again and splashed the water with her hand slightly. "Me neither, Jax. God, do you think there's something wrong with us?" she laughed. "I mean, aren't we supposed to be scared about this?"

"I think maybe 'nervous' is the word you're looking for," Jax said. "And I concede that I do feel a bit of that. But the thing is, I truly love you. You make me happier than anything in the world." He paused and shifted her body so that she was sideways in his arms, her shapely legs dangling over his muscular thighs, as the water splashed pleasantly with their movement. "One night when I came home - the night you threw that surprise party for me - I was walking up to the house through the snow, and I was thinking about you and how much you mean to me, and how happy I was that you loved me, and all the joy you bring into my life whenever I so much as look at you. And I thought the only thing that could make things any more perfect than they already were would be to have a baby with you. And now I'm going to have that. So how can I feel anything but overjoyed? Any attack of nerves I might have over impending fatherhood can't compare to the most prevalent emotions I feel when I'm with you, Brenda. Love that touches my soul - that's what I feel the most. And it blocks out everything else," he said with a shrug.

Beneath her dark, wet lashes, Brenda's gaze upon him was that of a woman whose love for one man spanned the very oceans - perhaps even the universes - and held her heart its most willing captive. "Would you think me terribly unoriginal if I just said . . .ditto for me?" she asked softly.

Jax smiled down at her and shook his head, as he slid his hands into the dark, seductive waves of her wet hair and lowered his lips to hers for a sinfully slow, thoroughly breathtaking kiss that echoed a million 'I love yous' wordlessly.

Today we took a walk up the stream
Picked some flowers climbed the hill
Above the lake
And secret thoughts were said aloud
We watched the pictures in the clouds
Until the clouds had blown away

Were we ever somewhere else?
You know it's hard to say
But I never saw blue like that before
Across the sky
Around the world
You're giving me all you have and more
And no one else has ever shown me how
To see the world the way I see it now
Oh, I never saw blue like that

I can't believe some months ago
I was alone
I didn't know you; I hadn't seen you or heard your name
And even now
I'm so amazed; it's like a dream
It's like a rainbow
It's like the rain

And some things are the way they are
And words just can't explain
I never saw blue like that before
Across the sky
Around the world
You're giving me all you have and more
And no one else has ever shown me how
To see the world the way I see it now
Oh, I never saw blue like that before

And it feels like now
And it feels like always
And it feels like heaven
I never saw blue like that before
Across the sky
Around the world
You're giving me all you have and more
And no one else has ever shown me how
To see the world the way I see it now
Oh, I never saw blue like that before

Brenda was so completely lost in the seductive splendor of her husband's magnificent kisses that she had no idea when he had lifted her out of the tub and out of the bathroom and placed her wet body in the center of their bed, his own wet body blanketing hers like a warm ocean, as she smiled up at him, curling her fingers into the curls of his wet, golden hair.

"I could not possibly love anyone or anything more than I love you," he whispered to her. "Just thought you might like to know that."

Her smile lit up even more, mesmerizing him. "And you," she said, running her fingers along his jawline, beneath his chin, and then against his lips. "are my absolute heart, Jasper Jacks. You're the only one for me. And I would do anything for you."

Jax rose a seductive blonde brow. "Anything?"

Brenda laughed. "No, no, no, no, no. No whipped cream or honey, honey. Not after we just had a bath," she said with a sweet, laughing groan as Jax kissed her breasts. "Besides, what would the baby think?" she said.

Jax laughed at how adorable she was. "The baby would probably think we are the coolest, most inventive parents on the planet, Brenda."

"Mmm hmm," she giggled, pulling his face down to hers. "Kiss me," she whispered.

Jax did kiss her. First he sweetly captured her lush lips in a dizzying display of electrifying passion, and then he kissed her everywhere, his kisses like hot, little, pulse points caressing her body. The love they made was slow and luscious, savoring every kiss, every touch, every physical and emotional sensation that was burning like sweet fire within them.

It seemed like they had been making love for hours when the chiming of the grandfather clock downstairs ushered in a new year. The mind-boggling, sensual rhythm Jax had set between them reached glorious proportions as the chimes went on counting down the last seconds of the previous year. The excitement and arousal rushed through Brenda like a tidal wave, overtaking her body and all of her senses with a powerful passion that set off sparks of love and desire that could rival any lightning storm there ever was. The sweet tempest of their sexual storm combined with the fathomless love in their hearts unleashed itself in blinding, erotic beauty as the fiery heart of their bodies hit the blissful point of passionate overload.

The new year was greeted by merry shouts and new year kisses. And Jax and Brenda gave it a quite rousing entrance of their own, complete with their own breathless shouts of ecstasy, followed by warm kisses of love.

Brenda woke at 6:45 a.m. the next morning to find breakfast in bed awaiting her. She stretched and then smiled and glanced around, but Jax was not in the bedroom. Stretching again, Brenda grabbed one of Jax's shirts and put it on and then gazed at the breakfast in front of her in appreciation. All of her favorites. She glanced up as Jax entered the bedroom, carrying Xander, who was munching on some crispy bacon.

"Sorry, he was lonely," Jax explained, winking at her.

Brenda smiled at Jax and blew him a kiss. "Hey, you never have to apologize for that. You know I love that damn cat," she said, reaching over to stroke Xander. The little, white tiger did one of his purr-growls of contentment and then Jax lowered him to the floor, where he happily began to attack Brenda's shoes. Brenda glanced at the jungle cat and shook her head. "Do you think Xander sometimes thinks he's a dog? I mean, don't dogs do that shoe thing?"

Jax laughed and kissed her. "No, I don't think he thinks he's a dog, thank you very much. Of course, I don't think he thinks he's a cat either," Jax murmured as he too watched Xander growl playfully and then attack another pair of Brenda's shoes.

"Thanks for breakfast," Brenda murmured, kissing Jax's neck and then reaching for a croissant. "What an awesome new year this is going to be for us, Jax! Hey, does everyone in the family know about our happy news yet?"

"Almost everyone," Jax said, eyeing her carefully. "Trey doesn't know. I can't seem to get in contact with him or locate him anywhere. It was strange, don't you think, that he took off like that yesterday? Didn't even wait until we got back to find out if he was or wasn't going to be an uncle? Didn't even say good-bye?"

Brenda shifted her eyes down to the plate in front of her. "Er... well, you know… Maybe he just had an emergency?"

"Did he, Brenda?" Jax asked her.

Brenda shifted her gaze back up to meet his slowly. "Er…How would I know that, Jax?"

"I think you would know," Jax said.

Brenda bit her lip as she felt the familiar nausea at the prospect of lying to Jax, although she realized it could be the baby that was causing her to feel like this now. She recalled Trey's certainty that Jax knew that they knew each other; that Jax would figure everything out. From Jax's tone of voice, she knew that Trey had known exactly what he was talking about.

"I'm sorry," Brenda said, wringing her hands. "I hated to lie to you. It made me sick. Literally, you know? I just . . ."

Jax pressed his finger to her lips to halt her apology. "Just tell me how the two of you know each other, sweetie," he said.

"Oh, Jax, you're going to hate this!" she said miserably. "I know how much you love him and this is just going to . . . you know, honey, I wish you would really sit down first. This is… this is… big"

He obliged her by sitting down on the bed next to her. "Did you know right away?" Jax asked her. "Because if you did, why didn't you tell me?"

Brenda looked at him puzzled. "Know . . . what?"

"That my cousin was Bastian Reese, Brenda."

A remote, desolate island in the Caribbean . . .

"Bastian?"

"Jenna, for godsakes stop calling me that," Trey muttered as he continued to try to work his way out of the ropes that bound his wrists together behind him.

"Sorry. Trey," she amended. "Brother. I can call you that, too, now," she said, still amazed by the revelation that they shared the same father.

"Yeah, if you want," he acquiesced, as he continued to try to get them out of the spot they were in by freeing himself.

"God, it's so dark in here!" Jenna said. "I can't even see you. Where are we, Trey? Do you know? Can we get out of here?"

"I think I know where we are, but I hope I'm wrong. Hey, Jenna, I hope you're working on getting out of those ropes because you're not going to be a whole lot of help to me tied up," he said.

"Ha! Well as usual, I am faster than you, oh master thief," she said as she shrugged off the ropes and felt her way in the darkness over to him to assist him in freeing himself.

"Hey, I happen to have taught you everything you know," Trey reminded her.

"Why did he put us here, Trey?" Jenna asked as she released him from the huge, knotted ropes. "I don't understand that. If he wants the Swiss bank account numbers so badly, why didn't he just force us to get them? Locking us in this dark - wherever we are - isn't going to get him what he wants."

"He has his methods," Trey told her, his voice solemn. "I know what he's going to do, and he doesn't need us to do it. In fact, he actually needs me out of the way to do it. Which is why he abducted you - to get me here -and now he's got us both out of commission."

"Okay, two questions: where are we; and what do you think your father's going to do?"

"He's your father, too," Trey said humorlessly.

"I'm desperately trying to ignore that fact," she muttered.

"Well, so am I, so let's just call him something else."

"Lucifer seems to fit," Jenna said, as she felt around the walls for any doors or windows.

"Works for me," Trey murmured. "Now to answer your questions: unless I'm mistaken we are on one of Lucifer's private islands, somewhere in the middle of a string of deserted, tiny Caribbean islands and atolls, in the cellar of a small villa."

"Well, that's not so bad!" Jenna said, relieved. "We can get out of that easy!"

"This island is surrounded by water, Jenna, and I know you can't swim. I'm sure they have cut the rope bridge so the only way to get out of here is to swim for it. And it's a long swim - you have to be a really good swimmer to make it. And even if you could swim, which we both already know you can't, the water is shark-infested."

"Oh," she said glumly. "Well, okay, so I can't swim, Trey, but you can. You're a great swimmer, so you can get out of here and get help! We both know that sharks won't bother anyone unless there's blood in the water, or they're hungry." She paused. "Are these sharks purposely not fed?"

"I don't know," Trey said. "I guess we're going to find out. Or at least I am," he said quietly.

"No, you're not!" she said, grabbing his arm in the darkness. "Listen to me: if you know those sharks are treated in a manner that would make them likely to attack, then you are not going anywhere! Do you hear me?!"

"Well, of course, I hear you; you're shouting at me."

Jenna laughed and spontaneously hugged him. "You know, even if you weren't my brother, I'd still care about you and would not want you to do this. But now that I know you are my brother, I swear I'll jump on you and attempt to break your arm if you try anything stupid, Trey Fielding."

"Jenna, I have to get us out of here. I will take every precaution; I promise."

"All right," she agreed reluctantly. "You never did answer the second part of my question. How do you think Lucifer is going to get those Swiss bank account numbers into this hands?"

Trey found the door shaft he'd been looking for on the ceiling and pulled her over to it, as a bit of light entered the room so they could see one another. "He knows that my cousin, Jax, is the key," Trey said. "He will want to do an exchange. He will take from Jax that which is most precious to him and then offer it back in exchange for the bank account numbers."

Jenna's eyes widened. "Jax's wife?"

Trey nodded. "Brenda... Lucifer and his sidekick are going after Brenda."