Jax had awakened early this morning, his mind filled with plans for the coming year. As he lay in bed holding his peacefully sleeping wife, he thought back to all that had happened to them in the past year. It was a year filled with ups and downs, good and bad. A year that neither he nor Brenda would ever forget. It was a year in which they had almost lost each other for good, yet had found the strength in their love to make their way back to each other, secure enough to plan a future together.

A smile crossed his lips as he thought back to last winter when Brenda had proposed to him in front of the fire at the cottage. His heart felt like it would break when he had to tell her he couldn't marry her -- that they would be best friends forever, but he could never love her in that way ever again. Surprisingly, she had taken his refusal with a calm assurance that he had not anticipated. She simply informed him that she would change his mind and she would win his love back. She proceeded to court him in much the same manner he had courted her in the beginning, before either of them had realized that was what he was doing. She had flown Paddy Manion and his oysters from Ireland for lunch. She had arranged a private jet to take them to Atlantic City to gamble with Thao and the Contessa, wagering not only all the money she had in the world, but with his consent, he had even been a part of the wager. He had offered to back her against the Contessa, but she assured him she would win -- and she was right. Not only did she succeed in winning him, but she won all the money in the bank plus the Contessa's diamond-and-ruby bracelet, which he had to admit looked much better on Brenda's wrist than it had on the Contessa's.

When they returned to Port Charles after a night full of fun and excitement, Brenda expected to find an elegant and romantic breakfast at her cottage for the two of them. An empty house with no trace of the breakfast or her best friend, Robin, who was supposed to have finalized the arrangements, had instead greeted them. They had quickly learned that no one had seen Robin since the day before, leading Brenda to the conclusion that Robin's relationship with mobster-wanna-be, Jason Morgan, had brought harm to her best friend. Jax had tried to calm Brenda and assure her that the J&J Jacks security people were the best in the world and they would have answers for them quickly. He had told her to wait at the cottage and he would bring her news as soon as possible. He smiled softly when he remembered returning with his assistant to find an empty cottage. He knew immediately where she had gone, to confront Jason about Robin's disappearance. When Jax arrived at the penthouse he found Jason trying to physically remove Brenda from the apartment. When Jason refused to give them any information about Robin, he and Brenda had decided to get her back on their own. Eventually promising Jason to wait 24 hours before doing anything. Luckily for everyone involved, Robin was returned the next day. Jax had been truly amazed by Brenda's strength throughout the crisis. He had feared the strain would be too much for her after the devastation she had endured over the previous few months but she not only remained strong but he felt he could lean on her when he began to loose faith. She had truly come a long way. Without even realizing it he tightened his arms around her sleeping body, causing her to stir slightly and snuggle her head under his chin, never waking from her sleep.

While Robin was recovering from her ordeal in General Hospital, Brenda's birthday came. She was so eager to celebrate not only her birthday but also Robin's return and anticipated complete recovery that she threw herself a birthday party in Robin's hospital room. In keeping with her plan to win back Jax's love, she had ordered the identical cake that he had the year before, a cake that had never been eaten and a birthday that was never celebrated. When it came time for presents - - something that Brenda truly loved -- Jax had given her a small box with no card. As soon as she opened it her entire face lit up like a star. He had found out that she had pawned the beautiful diamond-and-ruby bracelet she had won in Atlantic City, in order to pay for her extravagant courting of him. He had his assistant trace every jeweler and pawn shop in Port Charles in order to buy it back for her. He tried to make light of it by saying that dark eyes deserved rubies. Both Robin and Brenda had not bought that, and Robin told a "legend" from India about rubies that he tried to make light of. But as he was leaving, he wished Brenda a happy birthday and kissed her, making his heart, as well as hers, flutter.

Not long after, there had been that disaster-of-a-docks-dedication where the sniper had slightly wounded Brenda when she had pushed him out of the line of fire. He couldn't help but shiver at the thought of how close he had come to losing her that night. It was also the night he had come to realize that he wanted her back in his life but was unwilling to admit it to anyone, even himself. He had tried to distract himself with the icy cool Ashley. Jax had realized seeing Ashley had been a mistake when barely 10 minutes after she had arrived, she was already grating on his nerves. To make matters worse, his parents arrived unannounced to make sure both he and Brenda were all right. Close behind his parents came Brenda. His parents made very clear to everyone in the room, especially Ashley, that their preference for their younger son was his former -- and hopefully future -- wife, Brenda. Ashley quickly left, leaving Jax at the mercy of his parents and Brenda. He softly chuckled as he remembered the "talk" with his father about loving Brenda and being in love with her, Brenda's offer to buy dinner, and his fathers speech about his children paying for a meal and his mother's remark about Brenda still being a member of the family if she warranted that speech. His father's insistence that he didn't know what was good for him had made him angry at the time, but he now realized that his father had been right.

When the ELQ jet had disappeared carrying Brenda and Jason back from New York City, Jax had realized that his father was right. He did love Brenda, and he needed her in his life. He and Jerry had searched for days to find them. Even when Jerry suggested that she might be gone Jax refused to stop. He had known in his heart that she was alive and waiting for him to find her. When he had seen the flare the third night of searching, he had known instantly that it was she. It took all of Jerry's influence to keep him from landing the helicopter in the middle of the woods. He had cradled Brenda in his arms the entire flight back to General Hospital, refusing to let her out of his sight for fear she would be gone again. He sat beside her bed all night as she slept in the hospital and only left her for a few minutes when Robin had arrived to make sure for herself that Brenda was okay. Jax had put those minutes to good use. He planned to take her to the one place he knew she would feel at peace and be able to heal quickly -- Malibu. When he told her they were going, she told him she was not ready to fly again, and he promised her she'd enjoy the trip by train.

Before going to the beach house he had taken her on a whirlwind shopping spree as a means of pampering her. He swore he could see her healing as they walked, much the way she had the first time he brought her there after the hit-and-run two years before. As they sat watching the sun set on the beach, he held her close and told her he would marry her. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes as they kissed for the first time as an engaged couple. In all the time they had spent together they had never been engaged, they had been friends or husband and wife. Now they were engaged and planning a wedding and a future together. When they made love that night it was different from any time in the past. There were no ghosts, no memories, no threats, just the love they shared. Jax gently kissed her on the top of her head as he remembered the passion they shared that night and many nights after.

Their wedding had actually been very small by society standards. There had only been about 50 people there. No business associates, no society matrons, only the people they knew and loved. Brenda had asked Robin to be her maid of honor and had Lois as a bridesmaid. Lois's daughter, BrookeLynn, had been flower girl and very nearly stolen the show from Brenda, for everyone except Jax, who only had eyes for her. Jax had asked his brother, Jerry, to be his best man and Lois's husband Ned to be his usher. All had gone as planned at the wedding. They had married on November 5th, Brenda's mother's birthday. Tears came to Jax's eyes as he remembered the vows she had said to him. The same overwhelming love he had felt that day flooded into him as he lay in their bed holding his beautiful bride.

This was their first Christmas together as man and wife. He knew they had spent other Christmases together but there had been unforeseen legal problems that had ruined, at least a little, the memories of those Christmases. This year, nothing and no one was going to ruin Christmas for Brenda!

Jax looked over at the clock to see what time it was. When he moved Brenda awoke. "Jax, what are you doing up so early?" she asked in a voice still full of dreams that she was not yet ready to leave.

"Go back to sleep, luv, it's way too early for you to even be thinking of waking up. I was just thinking about how our lives have changed over the past year. How this is the most magical time of the year when everyone's wishes and dreams seem to come true."

"My dreams have already come true, the day you married me," Brenda sighed as she snuggled closer to him, feeling the warmth of his body next to hers. She quickly drifted off to sleep again, this time dreaming of their honeymoon on Kronos. Two weeks filled with nothing but lovemaking, fun, and more lovemaking. She could not remember when she had felt more at peace or happier in her entire life. Jax had given her everything and yet he had taught her what was really important. She had her priorities straight for the first time in her life. Nothing in her life, not her career, not her fame or any amount of money was more important to her than Jax and the love they shared. She fully intended to spend the rest of her life making sure he knew that.