When Jax arrived at the Quartermaine mansion to pick up Justin the next morning, he ran into the object of his desires and the occupant of some very erotic dreams of his last night, rounding the corner in a playful jog, with Cooper on his leash in front of her.

"Sorry," Brenda said when they collided. Then she realized it was Jax. "Oh, hi," she said, sounding a little happier to see him than she would have liked. She was discovering that mastering the art of polite indifference towards Jax was impossible. Heck, it had been impossible from the first time she had met him.

Brilliant blue eyes flashed over her. She presented, he thought, a most gorgeous picture in a navy blue cut off tank top beneath a white windbreaker, navy biker shorts and pristine white Fila running shoes.

"Hi," he responded, a melting warmth lighting his eyes. "Isn't this a bit early for you?" he asked with a grin, knowing that Brenda had never been an early riser. 11 a.m. was this particular sleeping beauty's usual wakening hour.

Brenda shrugged, not about to tell him that thanks to him, she hadn't really been able to sleep at all last night and had thus risen disgustingly early. Even earlier than Justin, which was unheard of.

"And how are you today, Cooper?" Jax said, crouching down and scratching his son's pet behind the ears. Cooper barked, howled a bit and wagged his tail wildly. "Yeah, must be the company, huh?" Jax said, grinning at the wolf-dog. Jax straightened and looked at Brenda. "Hey," he said, "about what happened between us yesterday…"

"Oh, don't bother to apologize, Jax…"

"I wasn't going to," he said, giving her a direct look.

"I mean you really don't need to even worry about it," she continued, as if she hadn't heard him. "I know I'm certainly not. It was just a curiosity thing - you know, to see if we could still do to each other what we once could. It was perfectly natural, when you look at it from the right perspective. Anyway, the bottom line is that it didn't mean anything. It was just a kiss. And it's not going to happen again," she informed him, looking directly into his eyes.

A flicker of amusement lit up those eyes. "It's not?"

"No."

"Never again?"

"No, Jax."

"You're certain?"

Her gorgeous brown eyes glinted. "Yes, I'm certain!"

He took a step forward, tipped her chin up with two fingers and brushed his lips in a feather-light caress against hers with no resistance from her whatsoever, she realized in mortification. Her own lips puckered against her will, seeking and connecting with his in yet another feather-light brush. And then Jax kissed her twice more for an even four before he lifted his head and drew back.

"Are you certain?" he repeated slowly.

Brenda felt the best avenue in the face of this thoroughly embarrassing little setback was just to retreat and regroup. Obviously her resistance needed a lot more fine-tuning! Muttering angrily to herself, she stepped around Jax, pulling Cooper along with her as she went up the walk.

Jax watched her for a moment, admiring the view and savoring his small victory, and then followed her up the walk and into the house. God, he hadn't smiled this much nor felt this good in years. Four years to be exact.

He entered the living room and immediately got a duffle bag shoved into his chest, courtesy of Brenda.

"Here," she said. "Justin's things - including his rollerblades, like you asked. Helmet, knee and elbow pads, too, of course. Your son is in the kitchen, having breakfast. Since Cook likes you so much, I'm sure you're one of the lucky seven who can enter the hallowed halls of her sacred kitchen and get him without losing any vital organs."

"Lucky seven? The other six being…?"

"The other six being, Ned, me, Justin, Em, Reggie, and Lila," Brenda explained.

Jax smiled at her. That damned smile that could make a nest of venom-spewing vipers bow adoringly at his feet. She let out a sigh of determination.

"I have to go change and then leave for a breakfast date, so…"

"A… what?" he demanded.

"…So you'll have to excuse me, but I can't really hang around and keep you company," Brenda said, ignoring his question as she started up the stairs.

Jax caught hold of her hand. "With who?" he asked.

Brenda turned around to face him. "Why does that matter to you?" she asked, pulling her hand away from his and folding her arms across her chest.

"Why?" he echoed. And then he set the duffle bag down and his hands were resting on her waist and she felt herself being propelled forward. "This is why," he said as his mouth came down on hers, delivering unto her lips a quick but thoroughly thrilling kiss, which Brenda could only describe to herself as extremely intoxicating.

Then she realized she'd just allowed him to kiss her yet again and steam started to come out of her ears. This was ridiculous!

"You know, Jax. If this is your idea of sowing your wild oats or whatever before you're married to what's-her-name, I wish you'd just go sow them on someone else."

Jax sighed. She was as exasperatingly stubborn, as he remembered. She couldn't see the truth when it was right in front of her pretty, little face. "I'm not getting married, Brenda," he said, stating what he felt was the obvious.

He wasn't? Why not? She desperately wanted to ask him, but felt it was far more important right now to hold onto the pitiful remnants of her pride and act as if she didn't care about his future marriage plans one way or another.

Jax saw the wistful curiosity in her eyes though. Then he saw the stubbornness settle in.

"Would you like to know why I'm not getting married?" he offered.

She realized that his hands were still circling her waist and the familiar magical swirl of the electricity that was always there between them was threatening to rob her of even that last tiny shred of pride she had.

"No," she said, turning away from him and heading up the stairs.

"Because I love you, Brenda, that's why," he called out softly after her. "I don't love her, I love you."

AJ, who had just come inside from the patio in time to catch the tail end of Jax's soft declaration, clapped Jax on the shoulder and said: "You know, she might be more inclined to believe you if you didn't have a fiancée. And if things like this weren't in the paper."

AJ opened up the PC Gazette and showed Jax yet another article about the wedding.

"I take it by the extremely annoyed look on your face that you didn't know about this?" AJ guessed.

"No," Jax said tightly.

"There was something in the Herald yesterday, too…"

"Yeah, I know, AJ," Jax said.

"It looks like Miranda is trying to combat all the press about Brenda. Or trying to send a message that, Brenda or no Brenda, you belong to her."

"Well, that would be a false message," Jax said, sitting down on the bottom step of the staircase and tossing the paper to the ground.

"I should hope so. You should hardly be marrying her while you're running around telling Brenda you love her," AJ said, leaning against the rail.

"I do love her," Jax said.

"I know, Jax. But how can you expect her to take you seriously when you're engaged to somebody else?"

"I've been trying to un-engage myself for the past three bloody days," Jax said, sliding his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Miranda has suddenly become impossible to get ahold of."

"How convenient," AJ murmured.

"Exactly," Jax said, pulling out his cell phone.

Knowing he was likely going to call Miranda, AJ took himself off to the den to give Jax some privacy.

"Damn it," Jax muttered when he got her answering machine. He waited for the beep and then spoke: "Miranda, this is Jax. You know it's been three days now and you always seem to have one excuse or another not to see me and I'm really starting to wonder what the hell's going on with you. I'm not accusing you of anything, but if this is a game of avoidance you're playing, you should know that it isn't going to accomplish anything other than to force me to handle this another way. I need to see you, all right? Today. I'm going to stop by and see you after I take Justin home later, and I'm going to expect you to be there, Miranda. Oh, and in the meantime, I would appreciate it if you stopped giving these interviews about the wedding. I mean it. Stop this. I don't want to see another one of those things. I'll see you around 8:30 tonight."

He hung up, having some bizarre sensation that she had been there at her house listening to his message and not answering the phone. Then his thoughts drifted away from her, as he wondered with whom Brenda had this breakfast date? He assumed it was Peter and that it wasn't really a date, but a business breakfast for Brenda to look about getting a house. At least he hoped that was what it was. He had a very low threshold of tolerance, he was discovering, for the idea of her with another man in any kind of romantic scenario.

His spirits were cheered by the sound of an adorable young voice from the kitchen singing: "We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine…"

And a moment later Justin emerged from the kitchen, his wolf following directly behind him.

Justin's eyes lit up when he saw his father sitting there at the foot of the staircase.

"Daddy!" he said, racing over to him; Cooper running along after him. "Look what I got!" Justin said, opening his hands to proudly display a frog.

"Hey, look at that," Jax said, doing his best impression of the mightily impressed father. "Where'd you get that little guy?"

"I found him. Right in the back yard by that statue of the ugly fish that has water comin' out of its mouth."

Jax snickered at Justin's accurate description of Edward's famed water fountain.

"Do you think I could keep him?" Justin asked.

"I think he would probably be happier if he were able to keep living outside," Jax said.

Justin nodded slowly. "Okay. But can I have a snake?"

"A snake?"

"Yeah!" Justin climbed up onto Jax's lap. "I know all about snakes! I know which ones are the bad ones and which ones are okay. Like I would never get a -" he paused to remember the word correctly and pronounce it correctly, as well, " - an Agkistrodon piscivorus," Justin said slowly. "But I want a -" he paused again, concentrating, "a Thamnophis sirtalis."

Jax raised a blonde brow, clearly impressed. "Okay, let's see… the first one was… a water moccasin snake and the second one… a garter snake?" Jax guessed.

Justin flashed his father a brilliant smile. "Yeah - that's right! How'd you know that? You know about snakes?" he asked, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Not me so much as my brother. He was quite the snake fanatic as a child - knew them all by their proper names, just like you do. He probably knows as much about them as you do, too."

"Did Uncle Jerry have any snakes?"

"Yes, actually he had a couple when he was a teenager."

"Does he have any now?"

Jax laughed. "Nope."

"Daddy, do you think you could tell Mommy its okay that I get a snake?" he asked, big blue eyes gazing up at his father. "Just a garter snake or a ribbon snake?"

"Umm… I'll mention it to her, okay? But I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you, kiddo. Females and snakes don't really… ahhh…"

"Yeah, I know," Justin sighed dramatically, stroking the frog's head. " 'Kay, I'm gonna put this frog back outside now."

"All right. Then go wash your hands and we can go, okay?"

"Can we get my yellow submarine today?"

"Sure," Jax promised.

"Will you play with it with me?"

Jax smiled at him. "Mmm hmmm."

"Hey, Daddy, Mommy said you're gonna teach me to ride a horsey, is that true?"

"Yes, it's true. After your birthday, though. Okay?"

But Justin was already gone, making happy 'whooping' noises as he raced back outside to deposit his frog back where he'd found it.

Miranda played Jax's message over for the fifth time, panicking more each time she heard it. The words he used, the controlled tone of his voice. His issuing the order for her not to do any more press on the wedding.

He was angry, all right. And frustrated. Clearly he wanted to break things off with her as soon as possible so he could go about chasing after his precious, little Brenda. He'd probably propose to her the minute he was free from his commitment to Miranda. It was why he was so desperate to talk to her, Miranda realized. Jax was not the type of man to end an engagement over the telephone or to publicly chase one woman around while engaged to another. He was looking to end their relationship to free himself up to chase Brenda to his heart's content.

And it was for this very reason that Miranda had no intention of allowing Jax to corner her and have that dreaded conversation ending their relationship.

She would invent any excuse to suddenly be out of town, she decided, heading to her bedroom to quickly pack. She had to be gone before Jax reached her house at 8:30 tonight. Yes, she would leave for a while on the pretense of some family emergency. She knew Jax well enough to know he would never pursue Brenda while he was still engaged. And he would never break the engagement any other way than face-to-face. So she had no choice but to be unavailable for that particular heart-to-heart.

And with any luck, Jax's parents would be able to come through for her in the meantime and find a way to send Brenda packing. What Miranda needed to do now was buy herself some time to avoid Jax's inevitable kiss-off.

Jamaica, she thought. A nice little trip to Jamaica to plan her next move while buying herself some time.

After a fun day spent at the video arcade, the Space Museum, a pit stop at Wyndham's in search of a yellow submarine (a successful search!) and then two wild hours of rollerblading in the park, Jax had just gotten Justin to decide on what he wanted for dinner (Pizza, grape juice and an apple) as they were passing the ELQ building.

"Hey, let's make a quick stop here for a second," Jax said, pulling the silver SUV up to the curb.

They went inside and Justin gazed around, impressed by the building.

"This is where you work?"

"Yep," Jax said, bidding several hellos to various employees as he headed for the elevator. He received several second glances, both because of the little boy at his side, and because it was unusual to see ELQ CEO Jasper Jacks in such casual attire as jeans, hiking boots, a hockey jersey, and a backwards baseball cap.

Jax took Justin up to his office, and Justin laughed as he entered. "Wow, Daddy, this is so big!" he said. "This is just for you?"

"Just for me," Jax said with a grin, taking his cap off and placing it on Justin's head. "Come here," Jax said, as he sat down behind his computer and turned it on.

Justin scrambled up into this father's lap, gazing at the computer screen. "What'cha doing?" Justin inquired.

"Not me, you," Jax said, as a screen on stocks appeared on a slate blue background. "Pick one of those words flashing by. Any one," Jax said. "Just point to it."

Justin looked at the screen as names of stocks scrolled by. "Mi-cro-tech," Justin said, reading the words carefully as he pointed to the one he wanted.

Jax blinked in shock. "You… can read that?"

Justin nodded and shrugged as if it were no big deal. "I pick Mic-ro-tech," he repeated. "Now what do we do?"

"What we do," Jax said, tapping out letters and numbers on the keyboard, "is buy some Microtech stock for my son."

Justin giggled. "Okay, then what?"

"And next time you come and see me, I'll show you how we check on how your stock is doing, okay? Stocks can make a person very rich, or very poor, JC - you have to know what you're doing," his father explained.

Justin gazed up at Jax. "You know what you're doing?"

Jax laughed. "So they tell me."

Justin nodded. "Do I get money? Would it be my money? Can I buy a snake?"

Jax shook his head and grinned. "You really are so bloody relentless." Just like I am, Jax thought.

"What's that mean?" Justin asked. "Relentless?"

"It means you don't ever give up."

"Nope, I don't," the boy agreed. "You neither, Daddy."

"Me neither," Jax corroborated.

"Mommy neither," Justin added. Then he leaned his head back against his father's chest, gazing at the computer screen absently and obviously growing a bit tired from all the activities of the day. "I love my mom a whole lot," he said out of the blue.

"So do I," Jax said, shutting off the computer and lifting the tired child into his arms as he arose from the chair.

"You should tell her that," Justin said. "If you love somebody that's what you're s'posed to do."

"I have told her that," Jax assured him. "I told her just this morning, in fact. Trust me, she knows how I feel, Justin. She just doesn't believe me."

"How come?"

"It's complicated."

"I know what that means. It means it's messed up, right?"

"A little bit. But not for long. I'm working on it."

"I can help you, Daddy. You need help? Just tell me. 'Kay?" He sounded so serious, that Jax instinctively gave him a hug.

Jax shut the door to his office as they left. "Thank you. You're already helping me," Jax assured him. "I could not ask for anything better than you."

And then Jax left the building, wanting to get Justin home and get him to eat a bit of dinner before the child fell asleep.

Brenda was just coming in from the pool house when Reginald told her someone was waiting for her in the foyer.

Brenda thanked him but groaned. She was not in the mood for company. Her breakfast "date" had been a disaster. She'd been determined to find something about Peter Williams that could attract her and lead to her dating him - anything to get back into the socializing game and start on the road to forgetting about Jax. But all during breakfast, all she could think about was Jax. How gorgeous he had looked this morning, how great he had smelled, how he had kissed her, how he had told her yet again that he was in love with her. How happy she had been at the sight of him. And as Jax filled her thoughts, she found herself getting more and more annoyed at being out for breakfast with Peter when she really wanted only to be with Jax. Suffice to say, she had been uninspiring company, and the entire "date" had been a flop. Brenda had a sinking feeling that all her dates would be, and it was all Jax's fault!

And now she had to entertain company in her less than stellar mood? She groaned again as she wrapped the huge towel about her shoulders, covering a great potion of her bikini-clad body and went to peek in the foyer to see who was waiting for her.

It was Jax's mother. And she was gawking in disbelief at Cooper and berating the Quartermaines for the stupidity and irresponsibility of having a feral beast in their home with a child living under their roof, threatening to report them, raging that they had no idea how precious Justin Barrett was.

Reginald took great pleasure in informing her that that the 'feral beast' was in fact her grandson's beloved pet.

"What a preposterous lie!" Jane accused.

"Oh, it's no lie," Brenda said as she stepped into the room. "And how dare you come here and insult anything or anyone in this house? Why don't you just turn right around and get the hell out, Jane," Brenda suggested icily.

Reginald discreetly made an exit, as he sensed claws coming out.

"I am not leaving," Jane said stonily. "I came here to speak with you, and I intend to do that."

"Well, I don't have anything to say to you, so you've wasted a trip. Now leave."

"I am here," Jane said, raising her voice a bit, "to talk about my grandson and the stifling restrictions you have placed upon Jax in regards to John and I being around the child."

"Well, you know, Jax doesn't seem to have a problem with it. If you do, that's too damn bad. And if Jax does, he'll talk to me about it. You will certainly not be our go-between."

"I will come to the point," Jane said in clipped tones. "John and I want to attend our grandson's birthday party. We have every right. We've spoken to Jax about it, but he has refused us. But of course we know that you put him up to that. You and your threats to keep him from his son if we are allowed near the child. If you were to back off from that nonsense, the entire family could be at the party, which is as it should be. Now, I want you to tell Jax that it is fine for John and I to attend."

Brenda stared at Jax's mother, stunned by her gall, really. "Sure, I'll tell Jax that. Just as soon as hell freezes over. And as soon as pigs fly. And as soon as the oceans dry up. And as soon as the sun falls down from the sky!"

Jane bristled. "You are making a grave mistake," she warned.

"No, you are!" Brenda said.

Forgiving Jax was one thing, but forgiving this woman, who along with John had tormented her in Jax's absence that summer - tormented her with inferences that once Jax saw Miranda again there was no way he'd go through with a wedding to Brenda, that was unforgivable. It didn't even matter that they'd ended up being absolutely right in predicting Jax's actions. Their cruelty in appearing to take great pleasure in fueling her fears and then gloating over her devastation the very day she'd been a sobbing mess, packing to leave, knowing about the baby and not being able to tell anyone - that was unforgivable. That these people - people she thought had loved her and whom she had loved, had done such an about-face in their feelings towards her and had appeared to all but rejoice in her misery - that was unforgivable. These were despicable people, and she would never let her son have anything to do with their kind. Jax and Jerry were different. As angry as she could get with them, they were nothing like their parents.

"Why don't you stop being such a selfish, little child mooning over Jax's rejection of you, and think about Justin!" Jane said. "That dear little boy needs John and me."

"He needs you like he needs a gunshot to the head! You will never, ever get near him, do you get that? Now get out. And don't you ever come back here."

Jane's lips curved unpleasantly as she opened the door and stood on the other side, pausing for a moment. "Don't push me, young lady," she advised. "After all, it shouldn't be too difficult to prove you an unfit mother to any court in the land and get Jax and Miranda sole custody of Justin. Why, just look at you allowing your four-year-old son to have that dangerous, green-eyed beast as a household pet. I'm sure that's merely the tip of the iceberg as far as your negligent maternal skills go."

"Lady, don't you dare threaten me," Brenda warned her.

"Oh, dear, are you going to run to that vulgar sister of yours and set that piece of human excrement she calls a husband on me?"

Brenda got a thoughtful look on her face. "No, I don't think so. I think I'll just tell Jax everything you said to me today. That should do it," Brenda said breezily, as she slammed the door in Jane's gaping face.

"I'll deny it!" she heard Jane shouting from the other side. "Do you hear me, girl? I'll deny every word! He'll never believe you!"

But the panicked anger in her voice told Brenda otherwise. And suddenly Brenda couldn't wait to see Jax!

Back at the penthouse, Jax was looking for his car keys so he could take Justin home. Jerry had stopped by and right now he and Justin were duking it out on the pinball machine, having exhausted the topic of snakes, which had fascinated Jax.

Jax found his keys, then glanced at his watch, noticing that it was already 7: 45.

"Hey, Justin, you've got to get your shoes on and get ready to go, kiddo. We're already fifteen minutes late. You can kick your Uncle Jerry's butt some other time."

"I'm not kickin' it now," Justin complained. "He's almost as good as you, Dad."

Jax and Jerry both laughed and then Jerry set Justin down to go scramble and look for his sneakers.

"How come I can't just sleep over? And then you can take me back in the morning?" Justin asked, as his little head peeped under the chair for his other sneaker.

"No sleepovers yet," Jax reminded him. "But I'm working on it."

" 'Kay, then I'll work on it, too," Justin promised, smiling triumphantly as he found his other sneaker and slid it on.

"Did anything I'd managed to gather make any sense to you?" Jerry asked Jax quietly. "Give you any ideas about who told Brenda those lies?"

Jax shook his head. "No, not really. Sometimes I feel like I'm never going to be able to find out, Jerry. But then, in my gut, I just know that I am."

"You are," Jerry assured him. "We are."

"I want Brenda to be a part of that 'we'," Jax said, packing up Justin's things. "She should be with me on this, Jer. We should be finding out the truth together. She should believe me, damn it. That woman loves me, and she should bloody well believe me."

"A part of her must believe you," Jerry insisted. "Otherwise, how else do you explain the lack of hostility towards you? I mean it's practically non-existent now. And you sure couldn't say that when we saw her in Paris. Or upon her return here, for that matter."

Jax shrugged. "She says that it's for Justin. That she needs to get along with me for his sake."

Jerry shook his head. "That's not true, Jax. I saw the way she looked at you at the Grille yesterday. It's about more than just Justin. Look, I know I was the one who was telling you that you could end up getting very hurt if Brenda didn't reciprocate your feelings and that you should abandon this cause. But I think I was wrong. Everything in me tells me she does reciprocate, Jax. She's just scared to death because of what she thinks she'd be risking in letting go and loving you again."

Jax had to smile at Jerry's giving him a pep talk that he really didn't need. "I know, Jerry. I am not giving up on her, if that's what you're thinking. Not a chance. I'm just impatient for her to believe me, that's all."

"It could take us a while to get that proof we need. We don't even know what the hell we're really looking for," Jerry pointed out.

Jax nodded in concession. "But I want her to believe me without needing any proof," he admitted. "In my heart, that's what I want. And I can't let go of that."

"I understand," Jerry said, because he did. "Jax, have you seen Mum and Dad lately?"

"Two days ago," Jax said. "Why?"

"I'm wondering why they're still here. Why they don't go back to Alaska. It's not like Dad to be away from the center of his business for that long."

"It's not like Dad to treat Brenda like public enemy number one either. He has always adored her. The level of his dislike - him and Mum both - I don't get it."

"They have been acting bloody strangely," Jerry said, glad to be able to say it out loud. "I mean, they've been getting me so damned angry, Jax. I can barely stand to be around them lately. I've been avoiding them," he confessed a bit sheepishly.

"I think they're staying because of Justin," Jax said. "They seem almost desperate to bond with him. Do you know Dad actually told me that I should tell Justin he had to like them? That I shouldn't care about his feelings because he was too little to know what to feel. Can you ever imagine our father saying something like that?" Jax asked in amazement. "I mean, this is the man who raised us with the freest of wills from when we could say our first words."

"And when did Miranda suddenly become so beloved to them?" Jerry added. "Good God, they never liked the woman. They were practically going to disown you when you announced your engagement to her after knowing her only a week when you were nineteen. Now they act like she's the Second Coming. It's almost as if…"

Jax nodded, already knowing what Jerry was thinking. "As if they're different people sometimes," Jax finished the thought.

"Yeah," Jerry concurred. "You don't think they're getting Alzheimer's or something, do you?"

Jax shook his head. "They're too young for that, aren't they? Not that I know much about the disease, but I think they'd have to be older. And what is the likelihood that they'd both be struck with it at the same time? Not to mention that I believe that forgetfulness is symptomatic of it, and they aren't forgetful, really. Just… different."

"I'm ready," Justin said, his yellow submarine clutched in his hands. And Jax and Jerry immediately ended their speculative conversation. But they needn't have bothered; Justin had heard the tail end of it. It made him like his grandparents even less. He wondered if his grandparents were aliens? His daddy and his uncle said they seemed to be not themselves. They could be aliens! Aliens living in his daddy's parent's bodies! He'd have to help his daddy find out, he decided. He would use his alien spy-kit that Aunt Julia had gotten him for Christmas.

Having dropped Justin off at the Quartermaine's, Jax was pleasantly surprised when Brenda asked him to wait for her out on the terrace in the back; she needed to talk to him.

He sat down in one of the patio chairs, crossed his ankle over his knee and perused the paper while he glanced at his watch, cognizant of his 8:30 meeting with Miranda at her place.

Brenda came out to join him on the terrace a few moments later. "Thanks for waiting," she said, shutting the French doors behind her.

"Anything for you," he responded easily.

"I have to tell you something, Jax," she said, taking a seat opposite him.

"How was your breakfast date?" he asked, gazing into her eyes. He totally made her lose her every thought when he looked at her that way, damn him.

"Oh, it was fine," she said with a shrug.

"That means it was awful," he interpreted with a grin.

Brenda's hands balled into fists. "It was not awful, Jax!" she lied.

He raised an eyebrow. "Worse than awful then?"

She made a little noise that indicated to him that she probably wished to toss something at his head.

"Excuse me, but why does any of this matter to you, Jax? It's not any of your business," Brenda pointed out defensively.

He gave her the cutest look on earth. "I am having this odd sensation of déjà vu," he said, rising up out of his chair. "I believe I told you just this morning why it matters to me. But if you need to be told again…"

She let out a little squeak as he hauled her to her feet. And then his hands were cradling her face, and then his lips were on hers, and then his tongue flicked sexily against the corners of her mouth, and then his tongue stole inside of her mouth, and then she was taking that long, sweet ride to kissing heaven.

His passionate kiss so flustered her that she almost forgot to tell him about her run-in with his mother. She stood in the circle of his arms, breathing as if she'd run for miles, her lips burning, her body set to flames, the urgency to bring his mouth back to hers startlingly overwhelming.

When his head began to dip back down for another kiss, she panicked. "Your mother came to see me today," she blurted out. "She tried to blackmail me into letting her and your father see Justin."

Jax looked stunned. "What?" he asked.

"She implied that she could find a way to prove I was an unfit mother and have Justin taken away from me if I didn't let her and your father see him. I want you to know I kicked her out of here. But I wasn't sure if you were aware of what she…"

"I wasn't," Jax said, the hazy blue passion in his eyes gone and replaced by a frigid, icy blue.

"I want you to tell her to stop bothering me, Jax," Brenda told him.

"I'll tell her a lot more than that," he promised, walking away. Then he stopped in the doorway. "Brenda, if she or my father ever approach you in any way, you have to let me know."

Brenda nodded, feeling an odd tenderness in her heart at his protectiveness.

And then he was gone.

From his SUV on his way to Miranda's house, Jax called his parents' suite at the PC hotel. When his mother answered the phone, he said: "I have only one thing to say to you. And I am telling you this now, Mum, in no uncertain terms."

"Jax, I can explain…"

"Do not interrupt me; just listen!" he barked. "Stay away from Brenda. Do you hear me? Stay away from her. And stay away from Justin. If you ever, ever go near Brenda again, threatening her in any manner whatsoever, I will have you tossed into jail for harassment myself, is that clear? Why are you and Dad even still here, Mum? Why don't you go home? I think we could all use a very long break from each other right about now because I swear to you that I have never been this angry with you in my life! What is wrong with you that you would do this? Do you think you're helping me? Do you? Well, you're not! You're ruining my bloody life; now stay out of it!" and he hung up the phone on his mother's stuttering protestations.

Next he dialed Miranda to let her know he was on his way over. He was stunned to get her answering machine and a message indicating she had been called away on a family emergency involving her Aunt Patricia in Amsterdam, who had taken ill; that she would be unreachable, that she would be gone for a few weeks, but would be in touch.

Jax listened to the message in utter disbelief and simmering anger over her obvious evasion tactics. And when the answering machine beeped to receive a message, he left one that Miranda had never thought she would get: "Well, Miranda, obviously this is your preferred means of communication, since you have clearly done everything in your power to avoid me, despite the fact that I have indicated to you the urgency with which I need to speak with you. Well, I won't have my life controlled by you or anyone else like this. And yes, this is a form of control and manipulation you are trying to exert. You think that if I can't speak with you personally, I will simply wait and wait. Well, you're wrong. I won't wait. So if you prefer to exchange conversations of this magnitude over machines, so be it. Miranda, I can't marry you. I'm sorry to have to tell you that our engagement is off and the wedding is canceled. I can't marry you because I'm quite madly in love with someone else. And my intention is to marry her. My heart is with her; my soul is with her. My life is with her. I wish you a happy life and I wish you love - with someone else."

He hung up with a resounding click, feeling damned good to have finally gotten that out.

He was free now.

Free to pursue Brenda to his heart's content.

Free to get his love back - the love of his life.

Free…

He smiled as a gentle rain began to fall, and Jax was tempted to jump out of his car, fling his arms out to the sides and lift his head to the heavens, letting the rain wash over him like a rebirth.

Though winter winds have blown
And bitter seeds been sown
I've told you who I am, and all I hope to be
Now I am free

"I may have miscalculated," Jane said to John, as he entered their PC Hotel suite, having just returned from his trip to Greece.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, dumping his suitcase on the floor.

"Brenda Barrett. I went to see her yesterday."

"What the devil for!"

"Because we are losing precious time here with the boy! We have made absolutely NO progress and haven't the slightest thing resembling a bond with him. I went to her to convince her to allow us to go to the boy's birthday party in Florida."

"That was very foolish of you! Did you really think she would do anything other than refuse you? It may have been over four years ago, but I doubt she has forgotten our treatment of her, once we were able to get Jax and Jerry into those jungles of South America."

Jane shrugged. "She has apparently forgiven Jax for casting her aside for another. I didn't think it completely out of the realm of possibility that she could do the same where we are concerned."

"It isn't the same at all. Jax has denied any culpability, for one thing. Perhaps she is starting to believe him." He flopped down on the couch. "This is a damned mess! You've gone and made it worse now."

"I realize that. The little witch told Jax about our conversation. The boy was livid, to put it mildly. Absolutely livid. He raged at me over the telephone and then hung up on me the moment he was done. He told me in no uncertain terms to stay away from her and from his son. He said that you and I should just go back to Alaska because he and Jerry needed a long break from us."

"Damn it, woman! What have you done?"

"It could have been worse," she rationalized. "She could have told him about that summer, about what we said to her. Apparently she still refuses to talk about any of that, which is our only saving grace right now. Had she told him that, I think clearly he would have cut himself off from us permanently. And his suspicions would have become very much aroused to our detriment."

"It doesn't matter! We're still cut off, for all intents and purposes. We're cut off from the child, who, need I remind you, is our whole reason for being here! I suppose now we are left with no choice but to take him."

"Not yet," Jane said quietly. "That is our plan only if all else fails."

"Hasn't it? You've gone and got Jax running us out of town and damn near hating you, the boy wants nothing to do with us, that idiot Jameson woman has gone and flown the coop, and I would bank that we are never going to be able to get Jax married to that whining ninny unless we give him a lobotomy. What other choice do we have now but to take the little boy?"

"We still have Jerry," Jane pointed out. "He is very influential with Jax. He can talk Jax into forgiving me and can be of great assistance in getting us access to the child. You did manage to get us some information we can use to manipulate him, didn't you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," John said with a smile. "I did."

"Then use it, and let's get him back on our side. He's the last hope we have of being able to pull this off without taking the child. Because you realize if we forcibly take him, he will have nothing but ill feelings towards us. Hatred even. Distrust. Contempt. It will be doubly hard to get the boy to trust us, to rely only on us, to be beholden to us. We'll likely have to resort to some sort of physical conditioning. And at his age that could be dangerous, and we can't allow anything to happen to him."

John just nodded. "All right, yes. I suppose we can work on using Jerry as a means of swaying Jax. Although, damn it all, I hope our other plan doesn't cause this one to blow up in our faces. I did give Jerry's name as the one who arranged for Colin Christopher to be at Justin's birthday party. Should Jax be furious with him over that, he's not likely to listen to anything Jerry may tell him about us. Good or bad."

"Can't you just call up Mr. Christopher's people and give another name as the sponsor? Or say the sponsor wants to remain anonymous? Or hell, give Miranda's name if you want to. She's fairly useless to us anyway," Jane said with a dismissive wave. "Let's face it, Jax is never going to marry her. Regardless of what comes of his pursuit of Brenda."

"All right," John agreed. "And with Miranda having temporarily gone into hiding, it plays right into our hands if I do decide to use her name. She may have the right of it though, you know, in thinking that she's managed to tie Jax's hands as far as any pursuit of Brenda goes. The boy isn't the type to humiliate his fiancée like that. He'd want to talk to her first before publicly acknowledging his feelings for another woman. And with any luck, Colin Christopher showing up at Justin's birthday will throw a monkey wrench into any aspirations of reconciliation Jax is harboring. As long as Jax and Brenda remain apart emotionally, the chances of her telling him everything that occurred that summer remain very slim. But should they get together - God forbid, get married…"

"I know," Jane said gravely. "We will be quite done for, and things will get nasty. And with her in his life, we will be cut out of Justin's life as surely as my name is…"

"We can't allow that to happen," John interrupted her, his voice cold with determination. "Should it come to that, we will take the boy in the darkness of night immediately and implement our 'plan of last resort.' "

The day of Justin's birthday party, the sun was shining brightly in Orlando and it was a hot 82 degrees outside. All the party guests were booked at Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge, a resort that was adventure in the making, where the balconies overlooked a picturesque savanna, where giraffe, zebra and other exotic animals roamed about a spacious, lush wildlife reserve.

The party itself was held in the Rainforest Café, a unique eatery that re-created a tropical rain forest through a combination of live and animated wildlife and special effects. The kids went crazy over it; fascinated by the mechanical tigers and lions and gorillas and elephants and the live exotic birds. They also went crazy over the "Pizzafari" section that had been set up for the party specifically for the kids. They could get pizzas with any kind of toppings they wanted, and it was served up by a Disney employee dressed as Rafiki the monkey.

Justin's gifts were piled up on a table surrounded by purple balloons, near a huge mechanical snake. Songs from The Lion King were piping through the speakers, as the kids sat in a circle and then screamed in delight as Timon, Pumbaa and Simba all entered the room, dancing and singing, and proceeded to play games with the kids, spotlighting the delighted birthday boy, who managed to remain delighted, despite his cousin Becky following him everywhere he went.

Jax sat with Jerry and Ned, watching his son having a sensational time and watching Sonny Corinthos' daughter hovering around his son like some annoying little bee. Jax was being good though, basically staying away from Sonny, who sat with Carly and their ever-present body guard, Johnny, watching the kids and smiling, occasionally glaring over at Jax. Jax was disgusted that a crime lord was at his son's party, but he kept his feelings to himself, difficult as that was.

Jax's eyes slid over to Brenda, who was right in front of him with Lois and Julia. Lois was laughing about how Becky and Brook Lynn both kept scrambling around to be the ones who were sitting next to Justin, and Becky's brother, Carson, was just glaring at both of the girls, who kept squeezing him out of the seat of honor next to his best friend and cousin. Michael and Lucas, who were both ten-years-old and four years older than the next oldest child (who was 6-year-old Brook Lynn), found the younger kids' adoration of little Justin to be highly amusing.

Jax found it amusing, too. And also interesting. His son, he mused, was a natural-born leader. He did not follow. No, he marched to the beat of his own drum. And he was the one who was followed.

"Reminds me of you," Jerry said to Jax, nodding in the direction of the kids. "Kids used to follow you around like that, too."

"How can he not remind you of Jax?" Ned joked. "He's the spitting image of him."

"Hey, he's got Bren's dimples," Lois turned around to say.

"And my hair," Brenda added, swishing her curls.

Jax laughed. "My color though," Jax pointed out, tugging on the dark, curling strands of her ponytail.

"Hey, blonde hair runs in our family, too," Julia pointed out, pointing to her own head of blonde hair and then reluctantly over to Carly's. "So he didn't necessarily get that from you," she said with a wink.

"Yes, he did," Brenda said, turning to impulsively grab a handful of Jax's hair gently in her hands as she smiled up at him. "Even I confess that Justin's shade of blonde is identical to Jax's." Her fingers brushed through his hair, unable not to. "Like vaults of gold."

Jax gazed into her eyes, his heart beating like a drum as the kids did a sing-along in a delightfully fun little parade, marching animatedly around the room with The Lion King characters leading the way.

Can you feel the love tonight?
The peace the evening brings
The world for once in perfect harmony
With all its living things

Jax continued to stare at Brenda, as he felt the sweet, heady caress of their magic swirling everywhere. Ambushing them before either of them had a chance to fight it off. Not that he would have. And given her inability to gaze away from him, she wouldn't have either.

The kids were now singing "Hakuna Matata" at the top of their lungs as they followed Timon and Pumbaa in a hilarious dance of hysterical body movements. Then Simba announced it was time for the cake, and the kids all screamed with anticipation and raced over to the cake table. The ear-splitting noise of the high-pitched screams, accompanied by the stampede of little racing feet, broke the enchantment that had been weaving Jax and Brenda deeply into its sweet spell.

Brenda blinked and yanked her hand from out of his hair and then spun around, away from him, irritated with herself for her behavior.

The adults went to join the kids and the Lion King characters by the cake. Brenda handed off her camera to Jerry and stood behind Justin, who had climbed up into the chair so he could gaze down at his big chocolate-marshmallow cake, which had the words 'Happy birthday Justin!' written in bright purple icing with four big purple candles and candy Lion King characters decorating the top.

"Can I cut it, Mommy? Can I?" Justin asked, oblivious to Becky and Brook Lynn, both trying to squeeze into the seat next to him on the left, since Carson had gotten the seat next to him on the right.

"Sure, baby, but Mommy's got to help you, okay?" Brenda turned to Jax. "Jax, could you light the candles please?" she asked him.

"Can I light them, Daddy?" Justin asked, turning to his father.

"No, let me do that, okay? Your job's to blow them out," Jax said, lighting the four candles.

"Okay, wait one second," Bobbie said, taking Brenda's camera from Jerry to get a picture of the cake alone and another of Justin standing over the cake with Brenda behind him and Jax behind her. Julia took out her own camera to do the same. "Okay, cut away," Bobbie said when all flashbulbs had ceased popping.

A lively chorus of "Happy Birthday To You" filled the restaurant, with Justin singing along saying, 'Happy Birthday to Me'. Then Brenda told her son to make a wish and blow out the candles.

Justin looked at his mother and then looked at his father. "Daddy knows what my wish is," he said, shooting a grin to his father. Then he closed his eyes, made his wish, took a deep breath…

"Think he can do it?" Jerry said loudly to Ned.

Justin paused, and his eyes shot over to his uncle.

"Hmm… I don't know. Four candles? I don't know," Ned said, tapping his forefinger ponderingly against his chin.

"I can do it," Justin insisted, looking adorably insulted at his uncle's lack of faith in him.

"Of course you can," Lois said.

"You want Uncle Sonny to help you out there, JC?" Sonny offered, grinning at the boy.

Jax gritted his teeth and counted to ten.

"I can do it by myself," Justin insisted. "I can blow all of them out."

"If you don't, Justin, your wish isn't gonna come true," Michael warned him.

Justin scowled over at his older cousin, not sure if he believed him, but figuring it was best not to take any chances. Then the birthday boy just shrugged, took another deep breath - deeper than before - and blew as hard as he could. All four candles went out in unison as everyone cheered. His blue eyes lit up with triumph. "I did it! I blew them all out, so now my wish is gonna come true!" he declared.

Brenda laughed and nodded.

Jax sent his son a secret, knowing smile.

Camera flashbulbs went off again, as Brenda held Justin's hand and together they sliced the first piece of cake. Brenda sliced the rest of the cake, as Rafiki the monkey plopped scoops of vanilla ice cream on top and passed it out among the kids and then the adults.

Half an hour later they were finally getting around to opening the gifts, which elicited another round of ear-splitting screams from the kids, when into the private party at the Rainforest Café walked racecar driver, Colin Christopher.

Michael was the first to spot him. "Dad!" Michael said, tugging on Sonny's arm. "Look, Colin Christopher's here!"

Jax, who'd been galled to hear AJ's son calling Sonny Corinthos 'Dad' with such ease, heard the name 'Colin Christopher, and looked up sharply at the man entering the festivities.

"Colin?" Julia said.

Brenda turned around and spotted Colin. She smiled in surprise at seeing him here and ran over to give him a big hug of greeting. Colin Christopher was very dear to her, not only because he was a dear friend of her sister's who had also helped Brenda greatly in fashioning a career as a photographer, but because in her time of despair, having been cast aside by Jax, all alone and pregnant living in Europe, he had been the one who'd taken the Lamaze classes with her. He had been the one who had been at Julia's when Brenda went into labor two weeks early and had raced them through the streets of London to the hospital. He had been the one who had held her hand and taken her abuse (according to Colin, she had cursed him, hit him and even bitten him) during her labor. Jax watched the two of them embracing, obviously awfully happy to see one another, and tension coiled in his body. Julia went over to greet him next, Justin following. Jax watched as Colin picked up Justin, hoisting him high in the air as Justin laughed.

"Now, that's a beautiful picture," Sonny said from behind Jax. "Just like one big, happy family, the three of them, huh, Jaxxy boy?"

Ned stood in between Jax and Sonny, knowing that Jax was clearly in a mood to throw Sonny across the room.

"Corinthos, go rob a bank or something," Ned muttered.

"Yeah, why not. My work here is done," Sonny laughed, moving away.

Colin continued to hold onto Justin while speaking to Brenda and Julia for several more minutes. Something was said that elicited happy laughter and a group hug. Then Justin squirmed out of Colin's arms, wanting to be put back down, and he grabbed hold of Colin's hand, wanting to introduce him to his father.

"C'mon, Colin, you can meet my daddy now. He's right over there!" Justin said excitedly, pulling Colin along.

Moments later the two stood in front of Jax. "Daddy," Justin said, wrapping an arm around his father leg, "This is Mommy's friend, Colin. 'Member I told you about him? This is my dad!" Justin said proudly.

Colin extended a hand in greeting to Jax. "Yes, I can certainly see that," he said. "Pleasure to meet you, Jax."

"You, too," Jax lied.

"I've heard a great deal about you," Colin told him.

Yes, Jax could only imagine that he had. And given what Brenda had believed Jax had done to her, it surely hadn't been anything good.

When Jax said nothing in response, Colin cleared his throat and then spoke again. "I was there when this little guy came into the world, you know," he mentioned.

"Yes, I know," Jax said slowly and through gritted teeth.

"That was one hell of a day," Colin laughed. "Let's just say Brenda is lethal in labor!"

Jax wanted to kill him. "I wouldn't know," Jax snapped. "Why are you here?" he demanded.

Julia, seeing the tension building in Jax and guessing the reason for it, intervened. "Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt. Could I borrow Jax for a moment?"

She pulled Jax aside. " I think I can clear something up for you," she told him.

"Julia, what are you talking about?" Jax asked in annoyance. Not liking that she'd interrupted him just when he'd begun his grilling of this guy.

"Colin and Brenda are just friends."

Jax said nothing.

"Colin and I got engaged two days ago," Julia elaborated.

Jax's eyes flickered in surprise and then went suspiciously down to her left hand, which was bare.

She smiled at him. "It's being resized at the jeweler in London. It was too big."

Jax stared at her. She laughed.

"We're getting married in the fall," she said.

Jax smiled then. "Does Brenda know this?"

Julia nodded, beaming. "I told her this morning. She was thrilled."

Ah, that would account for all that deafening female squealing I heard coming from Brenda's suite, Jax realized. His room being right next to Brenda and Justin's, the loud squeals had been quite audible.

"Well, I owe you a congratulations then," Jax said, with a smile as he bent to place a kiss upon her cheek. "And an apology for wanting to murder your future husband."

Julia laughed. "I think he'd be flattered to know he inspired your jealousy." Julia glanced over at her fiancé, who was talking to Justin and gazing at her and Jax with a scowl. "And apparently you're also inspiring his."

Jax glanced over at Colin and then waved.

Colin looked at him uneasily, managing a tentative wave in return.

"I apologize for my behavior," Jax said to Julia. "I just… when it comes to Brenda…"

"I can't understand how a man who clearly loves my sister as much as you do would ever have broken her heart the way you did."

"But I didn't!" Jax insisted. "That's just it, I didn't do it. All of the things Brenda thinks I did, I didn't."

"And yet you're engaged to the very woman you ended your relationship with Brenda for, Jax," Julia pointed out coolly.

"First of all, I never ended my relationship with Brenda. Second of all, Miranda asked me to marry her, I did not ask her, and I only agreed to it because after looking all over the damn place for your sister, I could not find her and was left with the conclusion that she did not want me to."

Julia had the decency to look away guiltily, as she had been party to giving Jax the run around as to Brenda's whereabouts.

"Why the hell do you think I'd spend years looking for a woman I did not want? I mean, does that make any sense to you?" Jax demanded, confounded by the logic, or lack of it, that women used sometimes. They were guided by their emotions, he knew, but still, it was damned frustrating sometimes "Oh, and third of all," Jax added, "I am no longer engaged to Miranda. I am in love with your sister, and if she weren't so bloody stubborn, she would see that, she would know that."

Julia took Jax's hand. "Well, if it's any consolation, I believe you, Jax. Of course, I'm not the one who was shattered to absolute pieces by the loss of you, so you have to cut Brenda some slack for being disinclined to believe you. She was destroyed that summer, Jax, destroyed. She came to me a 22-year-old girl emotionally destroyed, her future ripped away from her by two cruel phone calls, pregnant and scared. Eventually her emotional devastation turned to a very deep anger towards you. My advice to her was to confront you, to let you see her pain and let you know what you had done to her so you'd have to live with that for the rest of your life. But she didn't want to see you again. She didn't know how she could survive it, she told me. Especially if you were with someone else."

Jax felt a lump the size of a basketball form in his throat, as Julia described her sister's emotional wreckage in vivid detail. It was so very like his own had been, Jax realized. The kind of emotional Armageddon time could not heal. The kind you never quite came back from whole.

"But I think I should have insisted," Julia said with a shake of her head. "I think when you came looking for her, a light bulb should have gone off in my mind that said 'Hey, he's looking for her. Like crazy. He's here screaming in my face, wanting to find her. Are these the actions of a man who wants her out of his life?' I don't know why I didn't see that, Jax. Brenda would have been too hurt, too dead inside to see something like that, but I should have. And so I apologize for my part in keeping you from finding her. And I really hope that the two of you can work everything out and be happy. When Brenda first met you and used to call me and tell me everything about you, I used to be so envious of her. Of how damned happy you made her," Julia laughed. "I wanted that. So badly. And now I have it and my sister doesn't. I want her to get it back."

"She will," Jax said.

"Does she know that you're no longer engaged to Miranda?" Julia asked, surprised that Brenda had neglected to mention such a titillating bit of gossip.

Jax shook his head. "Not exactly. I told her that it was my intention to end the engagement, but she doesn't know yet that I have actually done it."

Julia nodded. "Does she know that you love her?"

"I tell her every time I see her, Julia" Jax said. "I don't think she believes me."

Julia impulsively gave him a hug. "Don't give up on her, Jax. Please."

"Don't worry, that's not even within the realm of possibility for me," Jax promised her.

Julia breathed a sigh of relief to hear that, and then let him go just as Justin's loud yelp of delight could be heard as he had opened his father's gift.

All the other kids stared at the purple jeep in awe, as a delirious Justin raced around the kiddy vehicle, yelling his lungs out in glee.

"I think he likes it," Colin mentioned.

Jax laughed, just as Justin raced over to him and hurled himself into his father's arms.

"Thank you, Daddy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Justin said. "That's such a wicked-cool jeep! My own jeep! Purple, too!! That's my favorite color! I can't hardly believe it even!" he clapped his little hand to his head dramatically. "It's really mine! Thank you, Daddy!" He nearly choked Jax; his little arms were wrapped so tightly around his father's neck. Then he gave Jax a giant kiss on the cheek and then leapt from his arms to run back over to his jeep. And he began yelling in delight anew, as he noticed the accessories that came with the jeep.

"What a preposterous gift," Edward muttered. "The boy could kill himself in that purple contraption!"

"With any luck, he'll run over you with it," Jax murmured.

"You're just upset because he didn't have the same reaction to your talking dictionary, Grandfather," Ned said.

"That little boy happens to love learning new words. It was a very good gift!" Edward ranted. "A very safe gift!"

Ned and Jax laughed at Edward's ire.

The little boy's reaction was similar upon opening his mother's gift, which, to his shock and thrill, was a snake in a colorful terrarium. Justin's whoops of joy filled the room. The boys had all 'oohed' and 'aahed' over how cool it was, while the girls had shrieked in horror when Justin unwrapped the slithering little creature, which Justin dubbed Simon the Snake.

"Thamnophis sirtalis!" Justin yelled out, grinning over at his Uncle Jerry.

Jax cast a look of amusement over at Brenda, who had been covered in sweet kisses by their son upon seeing the snake.

Jax walked over to her. "You got him the snake?" he asked. He brushed his fingers beneath her chin. "I'm so proud of you," he teased.

Brenda shrugged. "Well, I knew how much he wanted one. He's only been asking for one for over a year. And when you told me you thought I should consider it, I did. I considered it for a few days, and then I asked your brother to help me pick something appropriate out at the pet store." Brenda said with shudder. "Jax, I don't know how I will ever get used to looking at that thing," she confessed, crossing her eyes. "It's going to be living in my house!" she squeaked.

Jax laughed. "You'll get used to it, Brenda. You will. It's really kind of cute, actually. Did I mention to you that I am no longer engaged?"

The jarring switch of subject, not to mention the subject matter, took Brenda by surprise.

"W-what?" she stammered.

"I am no longer engaged," Jax repeated. "And, therefore, very much free to pursue my heart's desire. That would be you. Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

Brenda felt caught in the middle of a bizarre cyclone, both thrilling and terrifying at the same time and quite disorienting. No, make that thoroughly disorienting. She felt quite lightheaded. "No," she said in an oddly breathless little voice, shaking her head.

"No? Why not?" Jax asked casually.

"I… have a previous engagement," she lied.

He nodded slowly. "A date?"

"Yes," she lied again. Why did her voice sound like that?!

"With whom?"

"None of your business, Jax," she mumbled.

"That means no one."

She flushed with embarrassment at his dead-on guess. "With Colin, for your information!" she improvised. After all, Jax had no clue that Colin was Julia's fiancé.

"Oh, with Colin," Jax drawled. "All right, well, you two have a good time," he said with a wink that made her knees buckle and also made her think he was laughing at her.

Later that night, Brenda made sure to stay in her room to ensure that Jax didn't run into her and find her dateless. Colin and Julia had hopped on the Monorail and were out and about in the Magic Kingdom, so at least Brenda didn't have to worry about Jax bumping into Colin and wondering why he wasn't with Brenda.

Brenda, as it happened, was quite alone in her room, lounging around in a short, satin PJ set, because Justin was in Carly and Sonny's suite having a sleeping bag sleepover with Carson, Lucas and Michael for the night, which was really just an excuse for the boys to stay up all night playing with Justin's new toys and going gaga over his pet snake.

Bored with the selection of movies on the TV, Brenda got out her camera, put on the telephoto lens and stepped out onto the balcony, shutting it behind her. It was quite humid, that kind of sticky humidity you got right before a big, refreshing rain storm, but Brenda didn't mind the humidity so much right now, and so she stayed out on the balcony taking photos of the lush tropical gardens below filled with exotic birds and animals.

When she felt the first fat drops of rain falling on her arm she turned to head back inside only to find that her sliding door was stuck, or locked or something. The bottom line was she could not get back inside.

"Unbelievable!" she groaned as she pulled and tugged at the door to no avail.

The heavens opened up then, and the rain poured out in torrents soaking her within minutes. She glanced over at the partition of the balcony adjoining hers. She stared at it for several minutes, standing there getting soaked, and then finally let out another miffed, little groan as she was forced to climb over it, landing on the other balcony, which was the balcony of Jax's room. Of all the embarrassing things! Now she'd have to knock on his door in order to get back inside and he'd know she'd had no 'date.'

Steeling herself for his gorgeous, gloating smile, Brenda pushed the wet hair out of her eyes and knocked on the sliding glass door.

There was no answer. She knocked again, harder, but still nothing.

"Oh no. Come on, Jax, where are you?" she murmured as the heavy rain pelted her. She knocked again, tugging on the handle of the door at the same time. To her relief, it opened.

Brenda quietly snuck inside, thrilled at the possibility that Jax was either not here or fast asleep, so she could actually quietly sneak out of his room and into her own without him ever being any the wiser of her presence.

As she passed through the sitting area, separated from the bedroom by French doors, she saw Jax lying on the couch, his eyes closed, papers and notes scattered about him. She willed herself not to stare at him just to keep going. But he presented too irresistible a picture for her to do anything but stop and look.

His blonde hair was slightly tousled, a few locks falling over onto his forehead. His short-sleeved black shirt was completely unbuttoned exposing a lean, muscular expanse of sculpted golden abdominals that made Brenda's breathing accelerate wildly.

She curled her fingers into a fist, desperate to fight off these warm, tender feelings, the intensity of this attraction. She should go. She should just walk out of here right now.

Instead, her eyes roamed downwards, fixated on the silver buckle of the belt looped through his black jeans. She screamed at herself not to make her eyes go any lower! She was overheated enough as it was! Go. She should just go. Right now.

Well, maybe she could just take a few snap shots of him first, she thought. He was asleep after all. Who would know? She shut off the flash, changing the setting of her camera for shooting in the semi-darkness, since there was only the light of one desk lamp. She snapped several shots of the sleeping Jax from a distance. Then she bent closer to get a closer shot and kneeled on one of the many pieces of paper that were scattered about him.

Setting the camera down for a moment, she bent quietly to move the paper before she got it all wet, but then gazed curiously at the paper when she saw her name on it. It was Jax's handwriting and two columns. One headed 'Who would want Brenda away from me'; the other headed 'Who would want me away from Brenda'. Then below that were names, many scratched off, many with question marks next to them.

Brenda gasped, realizing that Jax was really and truly trying to reason out why someone might have deliberately sabotaged their relationship four years ago. And if Jax was really trying to do that, then surely it meant he was not responsible, and that meant…

Her tiny gasp had awakened him. He remained still, his eyes opened watching her, watching the expressions play over her beautiful face, although her head was bent so he could not fully see her. Watching her peach-colored satin pajamas, wet with rain and clinging provocatively to all the gorgeous hills and valleys of her body.

She had to go, Brenda realized, feeling very shaky all of a sudden. She had to go to her room and process this. Oh, my God! With shaking hands, she set the paper back down as quietly as possible and lifted her head only to lock eyes with a pair of baby blues that looked to be lit with stardust.

Brenda swallowed, busted. Not knowing what to do, unable to look away from Jax's gaze, which was locked so intensely with her own.

But Jax knew what to do. He reached for her, toppling her rain soaked body down onto the couch on top of him and into a passionate kiss that sent their senses reeling.

His hands cupped her wet face, stroking it, bringing her mouth even closer, making the kiss even deeper and deeper. Brenda found that she was urgently kissing him back, losing herself completely to the splendor that kissing Jax always had been… and still was. She knew that she might feel like a total idiot when it was over and curse herself a thousand times (and Jax ten thousand times) for letting this happen. But for now all she wanted to do was feel. Feel this happiness lighting up her heart, feel this thrilling desire heating her blood to a sensual boil, feel so wanted, feel so needed, feel so intoxicated by this love. Feel Jax loving her. She just wanted to have and to hold this moment, to hell with the consequences right now. She wanted to belong to Jax again, as intimately as possible. And she wanted him to belong to her, too. Right now. Right here. She didn't want anything else to matter. She wanted this so much she was shivering with the desire to let it happen. Their kisses had become like fire unleashed. Hot and wild and urgent and scintillating, spreading to every inch of their bodies.

Jax pulled away from her slowly, their eyes locked in a smoldering gaze. Pulses racing, breathing shallow and breathless, bodies aroused and shivering, needing not to stop here, needing to be with each other.

Jax's thumb brushed over her thoroughly kissed lips, his beautiful, starlit-blue eyes never leaving hers. "Stay with me tonight, Brenda," he said huskily.

Songs: "I am Free," Tal Bachman, from the CD entitled: Tal Bachman. Artist: Tal Bachman. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" written by Elton John/Tim rice from the CD entitled The Lion King Original Broadway Cast Recording. Artist: Lion King Cast.