Jax could not believe it when he heard the alarm go off and rolled over to see it was only 6:30 a.m. He knew he had not set the clock for that early. Normally he got up between 7:30 and 8:00, so he was at the office between 9:00 and 10:00. When the alarm went off, Brenda turned it off and immediately jumped out of bed, startling him. "Where are you going?" he asked as he reached for her. "It's the middle of the night, as far as you're concerned." He propped himself up as he reached to turn the bedside lamp on. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Jax, I told you today was going to be a busy day at the house. Thomas is going to be here about 7:45 to pick me up. In addition to the phone installers coming today, there are about a million deliveries and installations scheduled. Matthew can't be everywhere at the same time, so I told him I would be there to help." Even while she had been talking Brenda had managed to pull on Jax's warm, white terrycloth robe and to start putting her clothes together for today's outfit.

"Isn't Travis supposed to supervise the installation of the phone lines? He said something to me about checking to make sure they would remain secure, especially the data lines for the computer and fax." Jax started to get out of bed as well. As long as she was up, they might as well have breakfast together. "I'll tell you what… While you go take your shower, I'll call room service to order breakfast so we can eat together before you go. How does that sound?" The soft smile he gave her would melt the coldest heart. He knew she would say yes.

"Okay, that sounds fair. I shouldn't be too long. Order something filling, will you? I'm starved!" She came over to him and stood on her toes as she kissed him gently on the cheek, and then headed off into the bathroom. As she reached in to turn on the shower, she half expected him to join her there, but when he didn't she just shrugged and went ahead with her shower.

When Brenda came out of the bathroom about 30 minutes later, she didn't see Jax in the bedroom. She went to check his study, nothing. Finally, she heard him on the phone in the living room. Who on earth could he be talking to at 7:00 in the morning, she wondered? As she got closer, she realized he was in the middle of a business call to one of the account officers in the Sydney office. She only heard Jax's end of the conversation, but he didn't sound happy. "I don't care if it's after business hours, Tristan! You were supposed to have those reports faxed to my office yesterday our time, and they still aren't here! Where are they?" He turned around and saw her standing at the head of the stairs. He held up his finger to indicate he would be finished in a minute. "I don't care if it is 9:00 at night. I want those reports on my desk when I get in this morning! That gives you roughly two hours to get them there!

"Just a word of warning, mate. You're walking on thin ice with me. If those figures are incorrect or if this deal goes south because of you, I'd be prepared to look for a position elsewhere -- QUICKLY!!" He slammed the phone down and looked over at her with a slight grimace on his face, "Sorry about that, luv. I had hoped to be finished before you came down."

Brenda came down the stairs and walked over to him. "No problem. What was all that about? You didn't sound happy." She had come up and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his chest. "Anything I can help with?"

He pulled her closer. He loved the feel of her wrapped around him like this. "No, it's just Tristan Collins again. I swear I don't know how he got the reputation he has in the business community. This deal he's brokering for us is the third one in a row that he's managed to foul up. As you could tell, this is his last chance with us. If anything else goes wrong with this deal, he's out!"

"Jax, I don't mean to be a trouble maker but since Jerry just recently tried to cause trouble here in Port Charles by hiring Nikolas Spencer away, is there any chance he could be doing the same thing in this case?" She really had not wanted to add to Jax's problems with this deal, but it was a possibility that had to be considered.

"I thought about that. Travis checked him out six ways from Sunday over the past couple of weeks and could find no connection to Jerry, J&J Jacks, or any other outside force. He did find though that Tristan has been accumulating some pretty hefty bills. Maybe he's stalling things to try to get an increase in his commission.

"Whatever the reason, he's on notice now that if this deal goes south, so does he!" Just then there was a knock on the door. Jax went to answer it and let the room service waiter in with breakfast. Jax signed the check, tipped the waiter, and came over to hold out a chair for Brenda at the table. "Breakfast is served, my lady!" he said, bowing slightly as she sat down. Jax bent down and kissed the top of her head before going over to sit in his own chair.

They spent the entire time they were having breakfast talking about the new house. Brenda could not stop talking about the deliveries coming today. She was most excited about the curtains and lamps that would put the finishing touches on Jax's library. Once Travis and the phone company crew completed the installation of the extra phone lines, that would be another room to check off on the completed list. The phone company was also going to be installing all of the other phones in the house. Travis had told Jax he would be staying around the house until all the installations were complete, just to be sure. He had also planned to check the junction boxes before releasing the crew. Brenda was extremely pleased when she realized that the only rooms still on the incomplete list were the kitchen (still waiting for curtains and special shades) and their suite. The items still missing from there, she did not want to discuss with Jax, nor did he ask.

The conversation eventually led to a topic that neither of them was anxious to pursue -- arranging for their personal belongings to be moved to the house. They had already decided that Jax's home office equipment would be moved at the end of this week. He agreed to work only at the office until after the 14th so there would not be a problem. Travis would arrange to have all the computers, faxes, and his private phone lines moved in the next couple of days. Once they were installed and running, the cabinets would be locked, as would the library door, with Jax and Travis having the only keys. Jax suggested that he give Brenda his key, so that she could come and go in all rooms of the house, as long as she promised to lock the library door when she left, if she had been in there that day.

They had also finally selected a house manager and a cook. Brenda had interviewed several people for each position and had surprised herself by selecting a man to run the house. She wasn't exactly sure what to call the position, since if a woman had held it, housekeeper would be appropriate, but since she had selected a man it didn't seem right. After she and Jax and talked about all the candidates and Jax had met with the two finalists and agreed on her choice, they had decided to offer Benton Harrington the position of house manager. He had accepted without much discussion. He had to admit he preferred the title of house manager to butler. Travis had run a full background check on him and found all the credentials listed in his resume' to be not only accurate, but only a portion of his accomplishments.

Benton had worked with Brenda in selecting the cook, Mrs. Kelly. Brenda valued his opinion, since he had almost 20 years experience running a large home, and she admitted quite freely to having none. Mrs. Kelly, a middle-aged woman originally from Dublin, had the credentials that Benton found acceptable and the attitude that Brenda was comfortable with. Since they were not looking for a gourmet chef, Mrs. Kelly's simple yet diverse style of cooking was perfect.

Brenda and Benton had gotten along well from the first day. Once he had accepted the position, Jax and Brenda sat down with him to discuss household operations. Since neither Jax nor Brenda was comfortable with the formal routine of a butler-run house, they had wanted to set some ground rules for household procedures. Benton had not found a problem with any of their requests. He came to realize that this could very well turn out to be the position he had been looking for; where he would spend the rest of his working career. This young couple was very easy to get along with and seemed to know exactly how they wanted things run. Benton appreciated that. He had found from past experience that if the staff knew the requirements expected of them in the beginning, it would prevent problems in the future. After hiring Mrs. Kelly, the only position remaining had been the housekeepers. Benton had suggested hiring no more that two people to come in daily to clean and maintain the house. He had found that it was more practical to have a small, permanent staff and hire commercial services for window washing, parties, etc. Staff loyalty was easier to maintain with a smaller staff. Benton would be the only staff member to live at the house. He would be moving in at the same time as Jax and Brenda. Mrs. Kelly's family lived near the house, so transportation would not be a problem for her. Should situations arise, where Jax or Brenda would leave early or arrive very late, Benton was a more than passable chef, so he agreed to prepare those meals when necessary.

Benton and Mrs. Kelly had officially begun their duties on February 1. They would be working for the next few days, arranging the kitchen and pantry areas of the house in a more usable way. Mrs. Kelly would be doing the shopping a few days before they moved in. She had wanted to begin cooking right away, but Brenda had decided against it. She had convinced Mrs.

Kelly that the first meal she made for them should be their first dinner in the house on the day they moved in. Being a romantic at heart, Mrs. Kelly had completely understood and agreed wholeheartedly.

Over the next week, Benton would be working with Brenda to coordinate moving their personal belongings to the house. Both Jax and Brenda were grateful that he would take over the responsibility of packing and unpacking their clothes and personal belongings. The only things Brenda insisted on taking personal charge of were the important things: the little yacht, the steam engine, and the wooden box from New Orleans. Those things she was very specific in telling Benton would be her responsibility, and no one was to either pack or unpack those items. Benton made a notation in his planner to make sure her orders were carried out.

At exactly 7:45 there was a knock at the door. True to his word, there stood Thomas when Jax opened the door. "How 'ya doin,' mate?" Thomas asked. "What are you doing up so early? I thought you mogul types slept in late?"

"Very funny! I couldn't let you steal my wife away so early in the morning without at least having breakfast with her, could I?" Jax had started back toward the breakfast table, "Besides, what makes you think I don't always get up this early?"

Thomas tried very hard to keep from laughing at that question. "Do you really want me to answer that Jax? I've been here -- what three weeks? -- and during all of that time, I have never seen you leave for work before 9:00 or 9:30. Besides that, I do remember what it's like to be a newlywed." He couldn't resist smirking at Jax, "As I remember it, some nights can end up being rather on the 'short' side, shall we say!" Thomas could not believe what he saw, Jax was actually blushing! Jax NEVER blushed!

"Yeah, right!! Anyway, I'd like you to do me a favor today. I know you always keep an eye on Brenda, and it's not that I think someone is after her or anything, but there are going to be an awful lot of extra people in the house today. Would you keep a close eye on her? I just have this feeling that something will go wrong today. I wanted to be there myself, but Brenda made me promise to stay away."

"You can count on it, mate. I won't let her out of my site all day. What do you think is going to go wrong? Any idea?" Thomas's concern showed in his face. He had the same feeling driving over from the Jacks International apartment he had been living in. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he had the feeling that something out of the ordinary was going to happen today. He was relieved in a way that Jax had the same feeling. Now if they could figure out what to look for, they might be able to prevent trouble.

"I'm not really sure anything is going to go wrong. It's just a feeling that things are not going to go the way they are planned. I guess I'm just being overly protective. I'm letting my memories take over my common sense. Forget I ever said anything." Jax just shook his head and walked over to look out the window. Thomas could tell by the expression on Jax's face that he could not forget it, and for some reason, neither could he. They would have to discuss this later this evening. Thomas had the feeling that Jax had not told him everything about the past. Maybe there would be a clue there to what he had been experiencing at the house and what Jax had been feeling this morning.

Just then Brenda came down the stairs. Thomas couldn't remember ever seeing her so excited. "All set, Brenda?"

"You bet! Honey, I shouldn't be too late. Why don't you order dinner for us for around 7:00? Okay?" Brenda walked over, wrapped her arms around Jax, and gave him a kiss. One simple good-bye kiss had turned into a series of increasingly passionate kisses. So much so that Thomas loudly cleared his throat to remind the lovers of his presence. "Oh, sorry, Thomas. I guess I kind of got carried away!"

"Remind me to get you excited more often! That was a terrific good-bye kiss. Can I have another?" Jax asked with an evil glint in his eye and a smirk on his face, as he reached to pull her back to him again. She slipped away from him just before he could get hold.

"No, you don't! I'm already running late! Let's go, Thomas, before he gets any more ideas." She gave Jax a quick kiss on the cheek, grabbed her coat, and started out the door. As Thomas turned to leave, he gave Jax a slight nod of his head, acknowledging that he remembered their earlier conversation about keeping a close eye on her.

As usual, it had taken them about twenty minutes to get to the house. Now that Thomas was familiar with the streets of Port Charles, they had begun varying their route to the house. This time they had actually taken the direct route. Thomas figured with the rush hour traffic, they would blend in better than a roundabout route. Just to be different, he pulled their car all the way into the driveway and parked in front of the garage. That way it was not visible from the street and no one would be able to tell when they had arrived or left.

As soon as the car stopped, Brenda unhooked her seatbelt and started out the door. Thomas was right behind her. They were the first to arrive. Just as they were heading for the door, they saw another car come up the driveway. It was Matthew. Right behind him, Travis pulled up with two of his technicians. Brenda and Thomas waited at the door, so they could all go in at once. None of them noticed the compact car that slowly drove past the house, which is probably why when it drove by again about 10 minutes later, no one paid any attention. This time the driver pulled around the block and parked, watching the house from a distance. Jerry knew this would be his chance to get into the house. There had to be at least three telephone company trucks parked in front of the house in the past couple of minutes. Add to that, at least one delivery van that he had spotted on the way. He knew the house would be full of workmen, with no way for security to watch every one of them all the time. He simply needed to be patient and blend in. He would be able to look around to his heart's content and not attract any attention.

Travis had taken charge of the telephone crew. He and his technicians kept close watch on all six men. They went nowhere in the house without one of the technicians. Every phone line was checked, and the jacks in the rooms were tested. After the service technician finished with a room, one of the Jacks security technicians went through the room to check for electronic listening devices or other interference on the lines. All the rooms came up clean. Travis had personally taken charge of the installations in the library. He closely monitored each step of the installation. He especially watched the installation of the data lines for the computers and the fax machine. As soon as they were installed, he immediately swept them for listening devices and splitters. Everything was clear.

While Travis and the technicians were busy with the phones, Matthew had been checking in the final deliveries for the master suite. Many of the men in the delivery and installation crews had become familiar faces because of all the time they had spent at the house; others, because of so many deliveries and installations scheduled for the same day, were strangers.

Jerry realized this was his chance when he saw Matthew come out on the porch to check in a delivery. He checked the invoices and told the crew to go ahead and get the materials from the truck. This was his chance. Dressed in nondescript, gray coveralls like the furniture movers, he got out of his car and approached the van parked directly in front of the house. The shipment to be delivered consisted of several medium-sized boxes. When he watched the regular movers put the boxes up on their shoulders, he could not resist the urge to smile. This was going to be easier than he thought. He simply would put one of the boxes on his shoulder and walk right past Matthew and any one else who might recognize him.

Once he made it inside the house, Jerry left the box he was carrying with the others in the kitchen. He looked around to make sure no one else was around and headed out to explore the house. He could not believe his good fortune. He had managed to make it inside the house. His only problem now was what to do next. He had not made any specific plan. He just wanted to check the house out for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, so he could tell his mother that Jax was okay and happy. But more importantly, to him at least, he wanted to check it out because Jax was so insistent that he not be there. That was like throwing down a challenge to him. He could not rest until he had gotten past Jax and all of his court orders and security arrangements to prove he was the smarter brother.

Because of all the people coming and going in the house, it was not difficult for Jerry to roam around unnoticed. There were only four people who would actually recognize him anyway: Travis, Matthew, Thomas (he still didn't know what he was doing here), and, of course, that wife of Jax's, Brenda. Unless Travis had passed around his picture, the regular guards would not know him, nor would the rest of the workers; they didn't even know each other.

Jerry managed to roam around for almost an hour, and check out just about every room. He even made it upstairs to the ballroom. The last room to explore on the second floor was hidden behind a closed set of pocket doors. Jerry took a quick look at his watch as he approached the room at the end of the hall. He realized that he was pushing his luck. He'd been in the house over an hour already. This would be the last room he'd check out before leaving. He knew he had not been in all of them, but he had seen enough to reassure his mother that Jax was going to enjoy living here. Whoever had decorated the place had done a magnificent job, something he would tell his mom. Between the beautiful decoration and the extremely intricate security system, Jerry was confident Jax would be okay in this house, especially after he had seen the dramatic changes in the neighborhood. This no longer was the run-down area it had been when he had first come to Port Charles two years ago. This was a neighborhood to be proud of, and he knew Jax would do everything he could to keep it that way -- even to extent of keeping his own family away to protect property values.

Jerry was still chuckling to himself about that as he reached the closed doors. Just as he grasped the door handles to slide them open he heard a woman's voice behind him.

"Where do you think you're going, sir? That is my bedchamber you are entering!"

Jerry froze for a minute. Damn! What did he do now? Brenda had caught him where he wasn't suppose to be! And outside her bedroom no less! As he turned around, he started to try to explain. He knew he could talk his way out of this, especially to Brenda. After all, how hard could it be to convince a weakling like her of anything? "Okay, Brenda, you caught me… Wait a minute! Who are you? You're not Brenda?"