Port Charles Grill

1:15 P.M.

Jax could not believe how nervous he was, sitting and waiting for his mother. He kept telling himself that he was doing this for Brenda and the baby. Several times he looked over to the next booth, where Thomas was sitting. During the drive over from the office, Thomas had noticed how nervous Jax was getting the closer they got to the restaurant. Just before they pulled into the parking lot, Thomas leaned over to Jax and asked one last time, "Are you sure you want to do this, Jax? I can talk to her this time, you know - to set up some ground rules…"

When Jax looked closely into his friend's face, he could see the concern for him written all over it. He appreciated it more than he could ever tell him, but he also knew that Thomas knew how he felt. "I'll be okay, mate - thanks. I just keep thinking about the ugly scene the last time I saw her and everything that's happened since. I just want to make sure she understands my feelings, and I'm not sure I'll know how to say what I'm feeling. Does that make any sense?" The confused look on Jax's face said more to Thomas than the words he had just said.

"I know what you mean. All you have to do is tell her how you feel about what happened last time and what you expect of her if she intends to try to resolve things. You'll know what to say. It might be a little hard to get started, but once you do, I bet you'll be amazed at how easy it'll be. Trust me!" Thomas could see Jax start to relax a little as they got out of the car. "It probably wouldn't be a good idea if we walk in together though. Tell you what - I'll wait here in the lobby for a while. Why don't you go ahead to your table, just in case she's here early."

Jax nodded his agreement and headed on into The Grill alone. He approached the maitre de, "Hello, Jeff, is my table ready yet? I know I'm a little early."

"Of course, Mr. Jacks, right this way." Jeff led Jax over to a back booth that was out of the flow of traffic. "Is this acceptable, Mr. Jacks? Your secretary asked for a private table for a meeting."

"This is fine, Jeff - thanks. I'm expecting my mother, so if you would send her over when she arrives, I'd appreciate it."

As he slid around to the back of the table, Jax took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He picked up the menu to have something to keep himself busy, since he really wasn't hungry. He wondered how he was going to eat with his stomach tied in a million knots? Slowly his mind drifted to the note he carried in his shirt pocket and the message written there. He pulled it out to read again and was amazed to feel the knots in his stomach untying. A slight smile came across his face as he read the card again. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice.

"Hello, Jax."

Before looking up, Jax put the card back in his shirt pocket, "Hello, Lady Jane," he said coolly as he looked up at his mother. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. More importantly, how are you? I read about your accident in the paper. When we called the house all, they would tell us is that you were recovering quickly. Did you get my messages?"

"Why don't you have a seat?" Jax tried his best to keep the chill out of his voice, but could tell it was still there.

"Thank you. I have to admit I was surprised to get the call from your secretary this morning." Lady Jane slowly slid into the booth, being sure not to sit too close to Jax. She could tell that he was very tense.

"I guess you're wondering why I asked you to meet me this afternoon... It's really very simple, Brenda and I decided after my accident that it isn't fair to our child to grow up without any grandparents in their life."

A big smile spread across his mother's face. "Jax, thank you! Your father is going to be so happy about this! He has been so excited about becoming a grandfather!"

"WAIT A MINUTE! I didn't say anything about John - or Jerry, for that matter. I'm not even sure THIS is going to work! There are some conditions to this decision. If you can't abide by the conditions, then we'll just forget the whole thing and continue as we have!" The steely look in Jax's eyes told his mother volumes more than his words.

Unable to keep her shock out of her voice, Jane tensed noticeably before continuing, "I don't understand what you mean, Jax. I thought you just said you wanted your child to have grandparents in their life."

"We do. However, if you don't feel you can abide by our conditions, we're sure that our child will grow up happy and well adjusted, even without grandparents. After all, neither Brenda nor I had grandparents when we were growing up…"

"I know, Jax, but wouldn't it be better for the baby to know how much their entire family loves them?" Jane was trying to keep her emotions in check. This had all come as a surprise to her. When she had told John about the call from Jax's secretary, he was sure that Jax wanted to make peace with the family. How was she going to tell him that his youngest son still didn't want anything to do with him?

"That all depends upon your definition of love! But we're getting ahead of ourselves here. You haven't heard the conditions yet. You may not want to agree to them." Jax's voice was devoid of all emotion as he spoke. He had managed to get his anger under control when he heard Thomas moving behind him. When he heard Thomas slide over in his booth so that his back was directly behind him, Jax was finally able to take control of the situation and his feelings.

Just then the waiter came over to take their order. "Why don't we order our lunch first, then we can talk?" Jax opened his menu and glanced over it quickly. His mother did the same. Once they had given their order to the waiter and he left, Jax slowly clasped his hands together on the table and looked at his mother. "Are you ready?"

"I guess so. Can I say something first?"

"Of course, what is it?" The controlled anger in Jax's voice was obvious. His mother looked him straight in the eyes before saying anything.

"Does Brenda know we're meeting like this?" Jane knew she had made a mistake when she saw the storm brewing in her son's face.

"I should have known this was a mistake! You are bound and determined to think the worst of Brenda, aren't you? You think SHE'S the reason the family fell apart, don't you?" Jax threw his napkin down on the table and started to get up. As he was getting up, he heard Thomas behind him softly whisper for him to calm down. Jax took a deep breath and sat back down - no calmer, but willing instead to listen to his mother's excuses. Jax no longer had much faith in this part of their plan. There was no way he was going to let Lady Jane ANYWHERE near Brenda or the baby - not now, not like this!

Lady Jane realized very quickly that things were not going well with Jax. If she had any hope of reconciliation with her son, she was going to have to find a way to convince him that she was not against Brenda. "Jax, I didn't mean that! I just wondered if you were doing this on your own, or if the two of you wanted this, that's all."

Jax took a deep breath before saying anything, "Fine! To answer your question: yes, Brenda knows about this meeting, and she fully agrees with me. However, I'm the one setting conditions, not Brenda! You need to understand that up front. Brenda is willing to leave the past in the past and try to start over. Unfortunately for you, I'm not! I will never permit another attack on her like you launched that day in the penthouse! Do I make myself clear!"

Jane shivered when she saw the look in Jax's eyes. They were as cold as steel. He looked nothing like the loving son who had talked to her about anything and everything when he had been growing up. She actually felt frightened of him! "I understand, Jax."

"Good! Now, let's get to the conditions you need to meet before I will let you anywhere near my family or my home!" Jax shifted slightly in his seat. Before he had a chance to explain anything, the waiter arrived with their lunches.

Neither Jax nor Lady Jane said anything as they ate. It was obvious to Thomas that Jax was taking this time to get his anger under control. As he was beginning his lunch, he heard his cell phone ring. He quickly answered it so as not to raise Jane's suspicion. "Hello?"

"Hi, Thomas - it's me! How are things going?" Brenda's nervousness was obvious in her voice.

Thomas had to smile; somehow he knew it would be Brenda calling. "Well, they got off to a rocky start, but now that they're eating, it'll give Jax a chance to calm down. I have to admit, Brenda, for a while there I thought things were going to fall apart, but he seemed to get control of the situation."

"Thanks for being honest with me, Thomas. I think I'll give him a quick call. Bye." Brenda quickly ended their call and then pressed the speed dial number for Jax's cell phone. It only took a few seconds for the call to connect, but Brenda began to fidget as if it were taking forever.

Jax set his fork down when he heard his cell phone ring. "Jax here" was all he was able to say.

"Jacks here, too. How are you, darling?" Jax had to control his urge to smile at the sound of her voice; she always knew when he needed to hear it. "I just talked to Thomas, and he told me things didn't get off to a very good start. I just wanted to let you know how much I love you and to promise you that if you don't want to do this we can find another way."

"I'm glad you called. You're right; things didn't start out exactly as planned, but I think we'll be at least comfortable with the end result. How about if I talk to you later to fill in on the details?" Jax had to make a conscious effort to control, not only his expression, but also the tone of his voice, so as not to tip off his mother as to whom he was talking.

"Okay, I'll wait to hear from you. Just remember that we both love you, Jax, and everything will work out. Bye-bye." Brenda slowly hung up the phone. She sat staring at it for several minutes, worrying about what this was doing to Jax.

Jax slowly closed his phone, thinking over what Brenda had just said. He decided very quickly that he could do this; it was important to keeping Brenda and the baby safe - even Madeline had agreed. He was more determined than ever to make this work. If it didn't, it wouldn't be because of any failure on his part.

Jane could tell that whomever had called had affected Jax deeply. After her years of living with John, she knew it was something business-related and she would not pry. She chose instead to continue eating and hope that Jax would give her the details to reuniting her family.

After they finished eating and were having coffee, Jax took a deep breath and placed his hands on the table in front of him. He looked closely at his mother before he began to speak, giving her the very distinct feeling that what he was about to say was to be taken VERY seriously. "Okay, what do you say we start over?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Jane understood the look on her younger son's face, and for some reason she felt a twinge of fear.

"Obviously you know that Brenda and I are expecting a baby. You are also aware of my accident a few weeks ago. The fact that you called the house and the office several times to speak to me in the past few weeks proves that." Jane did not say anything in answer to Jax's statement, giving him the opportunity to continue. "Well, everything that has happened has made both Brenda and me do some serious thinking about our baby's future. We both decided that we would like the baby to know its grandmother. But - and I can't stress this strongly enough - that does not mean that we will welcome you back into our family as if nothing has happened. We both want you to be aware that if this does not work out, we feel very comfortable that we can provide a loving surrogate family for the child. Do you understand?" Jax looked straight into his mother's eyes.

"I understand, Jax. I do want to be a part of my grandchild's life. What do you want me to do?" Jane had great difficulty keeping the emotion out of her voice.

Jax was relieved that she was at least willing to listen. "Before we go any farther with this, you need to realize that whatever happens from this point on is strictly up to you! There are things I need from you to make sure my family will be happy that are not open for discussion. The first and most important is that you will apologize to Brenda for what happened at the penthouse that day. Brenda does not do my thinking for me, Lady Jane! You of all people should understand that! She is willing to forget what happened and just move on, but I am not. I want your promise that NOTHING like that will ever happen again!" The look on his face made it perfectly clear to Jane that if she did not agree to this, there would be no further discussion.

"I have no problem with that, Jax. I realized when I got home that day that I had overreacted. I REALLY do want to make it up to both of you - just tell me how."

"I can't promise you anything at this point. I think we should meet again like this in a public place - the three of us - and see how thing go. Is that agreeable?"

"Definitely! Jax, I'll do whatever you want. Just give me a chance; that's all I ask." Jax could see the beginnings of tears in his mother's eyes. He knew there was one more thing that she needed to understand if this was going to work though.

"Before we make any plans, there is one thing you need to understand: just because we're willing to try working things out with you does not mean that either Brenda or myself have any intention of making the same offer to Jerry or John! If you cannot accept the fact that they are not welcome in our lives and just accept what we are offering, say so right now and we'll both walk away from this." Jax waited for his mother to answer. He could see the confusion in her eyes. He knew she wanted him back in her life, but she wasn't sure she was willing to pay the price he was asking. He also knew though that he was not ready to let either John or Jerry anywhere near Brenda - not yet. He wasn't sure he ever would be, even if it meant having to live with Everett for the rest of their lives!

Finally Jane answered Jax, "I understand, Jax. I'm willing to do this without your father or brother. I'm just hoping that if things do go well between us that you will at least consider extending the offer to them as well. After all, your child will need an uncle, you know." Jane tried to make light of her desire, but she quickly saw the resolve in Jax's face.

"The baby will have a wonderful uncle in Thomas. I can't think of a better role model, can you?" Jax knew that his remark would hurt his mother, but he needed for her to understand how serious he was.

Jane looked down at her fingers before answering. Jax was right. Thomas was everything Jerry wasn't! He would be a wonderful uncle for the baby. "That's true. I can't think of anyone better. Okay, Jax, I agree to your terms. What do we do next?"

Jax took a deep breath before continuing, "Well, I think for now, we leave things as they are. I'll talk to Brenda tonight, and we'll call you about getting together again. I won't promise you this will work, mum, but we can give it a try."

Jane sharply drew in her breath. That was the first time he had called her mum since this entire mess with J&J Jacks had started. Maybe there was some hope for her family! Before she could say anything else, Jax signaled the waiter for the check. He quickly signed it and handed it back to him. Once the waiter left Jax stood up to leave.

"I'll be in touch in a few days. In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you would make it very clear to the rest of the family the terms of this offer. I'm sure you've already told them about this lunch. I'm also sure that they are probably waiting for you somewhere here in the restaurant. If any or all of you cannot abide by the conditions of this offer, just let me know." Jax nodded curtly to his mother and walked briskly from the restaurant, leaving his mother standing by the table watching him walk out the door.

As Thomas was getting ready to leave, he sat back down quickly when he heard a familiar voice approach Lady Jane. "Well, what did the boy have to say for himself? Is he begging our forgiveness?" Jane spun quickly to face her smirking husband.

"You can be such an idiot sometimes, John Jacks!" she declared. "For your information, my son has offered ME an opportunity to be a part of his life, as well as that of the rest of his family!"

"I knew it! The boy finally realized that blood is thicker than sex! So what did he say? When do we get together?" John reached in his pocket for his planner, convinced that everything would be as before. Jane could see the wheels turning in his brain.

"You don't get it, do you, John? He made the offer to ME, not US! He wants nothing to do with either you or Jerry, and right now, I can't blame him!" Jane quickly wiped the tears she felt falling on her cheeks away. "He made it very clear to me that any attempt by me or you to try to ingratiate you back into his life will severe all ties with him for all of us permanently!"

"Calm down, Lady Jane! You know how important family is to him! He'd never deprive his child of a family!" John stopped suddenly when he saw the look on his wife's face. "What?"

"He's already thought of that, John. He has no intention of depriving his child of a family. He made it very clear to me that he has every intention of raising his child in a loving and supportive family environment. It just won't be this family! Jax and Brenda have built a surrogate family of friends that they both intend to be deeply involved in their child's life. If we screw this up, they have no qualms about cutting ALL of us out of the child's life for good! I don't know about you, but I don't intend to let that happen! I intend to do whatever it takes to reestablish my relationship with both Jax and Brenda!" Jane walked quickly away from her husband as he stood watching her leave, not realizing Thomas was sitting right next to him.

Once she was gone, John pulled out his cell phone and pressed a speed dial. "Jerry, it's dad. We were right. The boy is offering to let us back in. No, he didn't say all of us exactly; he made the offer to your mum. I don't care. If she's the only one to get back in, we'll just use her. If he doesn't let us back in, we'll just get the information we need from her without letting her know it. Pretty soon, he won't know what hit him. His company will be in so much trouble that he'll come begging us to help him out. I'm positive, Jerry! This couldn't have happened at a better time for us. Absorbing Jacks International will be just the financial boost we need. Besides, his squeaky clean reputation can't hurt either. Okay, right. I'll talk to you when I get back to the office. Bye." John closed his phone and walked confidently out of the restaurant.

Thomas could not believe what he had just heard. The man would never learn! Before leaving, Thomas pulled out his cell phone and pressed speed dial. "Hi, Brenda, it's me. No things went pretty well with Lady Jane, but I'm sure Jax will explain everything to you. Is he planning to come straight home from here or is he going back to the office?"

"He called a few minutes ago, Thomas, and said he was on his way home - why?" Brenda didn't like the tone of Thomas's voice. "Is something wrong?"

"Not really. Would you ask him to wait until I get there? There is something I need to tell both of you." Thomas did not want to say anything to frighten Brenda. "Everything really is okay, Brenda."

"I know, Thomas, but thanks for saying that. I'll tell Jax when he gets here that you're on your way. See you soon." Brenda hung up the phone, wondering what had gone wrong. Obviously something had happened after Jax had left because Jax had very positive when he had called earlier.

About ten minutes after Thomas's call, Brenda heard Jax's car in the driveway. She was waiting for him when he came through the door. Quickly wrapping her arms around his neck, Brenda hugged him tightly. "So how did lunch go?" she asked when she finally pulled away from him.

Jax looked at her for a minute before answering. "Well, it got off to a kind of rocky start, but once you called, it got better. I want to thank you for that." Jax bent down and kissed the tip of Brenda's nose. "You seem to know exactly when I need to hear your voice. How do you do that?" He gently stroked her hair and smiled down at her.

Brenda looked up with a smile on her face. "It's just a gift, I guess. Before I forget… Thomas called a little while ago. He asked me to tell you he was on his way over to talk to both of us. I got the feeling that something happened at the restaurant after you left. Jax, I don't think it was something good either."

Jax became concerned by Thomas's message. Could he have misread his mother that badly? He really thought she wanted to make an effort to bridge the gap between them. "Did he say what it was?"

"No, he just asked that you wait until he got here - that he needed to talk to both of us. I got the feeling from the tone of his voice that something happened - that's all. So tell me about your lunch? Did Jane agree to our conditions?"

"She seemed to. Now I wonder if maybe I was being conned by her. If Thomas wants to talk to both of us, that means you're right, something did happen after I left." Just then there was a knock at the front door. Jax went over to open it and found Thomas on the other side. "Hi, mate! Didn't I just see you someplace?" Jax joked as he opened the door wider to let Thomas in.

"You know, you may be right. I vaguely remember that blond hair from someplace!" Thomas swatted Jax on the back of the shoulder and came in to kiss Brenda. "Is there someplace private we can talk? There is something I need to tell you both." Brenda and Jax looked at each other. They had both been right: something had happened after Jax had left the restaurant.

"Sure, let's go up to the sitting room. We won't be disturbed there." Jax led the way up the stairs. Once they were all inside, Jax closed the hallway doors and came over to sit next to Brenda on the couch. Thomas had taken a seat in the chair across from them. "Okay, give - what happened after I left?"

Thomas waited for a minute before answering. "Well, after you left, your mum was standing there, just staring at the door, when your father walks up. I really don't think she was expecting to see him there, Jax. I think he must have followed her. Anyway, he asked her how things went with you, and she told him about your offer. He was ecstatic. He told her he knew you couldn't keep the family at a distance permanently."

Brenda could see the anger building in Jax's face. She reached over and squeezed his hand. Jax looked over at her and smiled. "What else?"

"Well, the good news is that Lady Jane told him off!" Thomas smiled at the shocked expression on Jax's face. "You should have seen her, Jax. She stood right up to him and told him she was not going to let him screw this chance up for her."

"Well, if that's the case, what brought you over here so quickly? Jax and I got the impression that something was wrong?" Brenda was confused. If Lady Jane had stood up to John, she didn't see what the problem was.

"The problem happened after Lady Jane left. As soon as she was out of the restaurant, John took out his cell phone and called Jerry. He told him about the offer and how it would work exactly into their plans. He told him that if you only let Jane back in to your lives, he'd just use her as a channel of information on your businesses so that they could do whatever was necessary to cause you major trouble. He figured it wouldn't take long for you to come running to him for help. He figured that the influx of your capital into his company - not to mention your good reputation - would be all he'll need to shore up his company." Thomas saw the storm clouds brewing in Jax's face.

"That rotten son of a b….! Who does he think he is? " Jax got up and started pacing around the room. "This is why I didn't want to do this! How do we know we can trust Lady Jane now?"

"I think we can, Jax." Jax was startled to hear Brenda's defense. "I really understand her need to get back into your life. Put yourself in here place, Jax. How would you feel if this child decided to cut you out of his life? No, I think we can trust Lady Jane. Our problem now is, how do we keep John and Jerry out of this - especially out of this house?"

Before anyone could answer Brenda's questions, they all noticed the scent of roses filling the room. Brenda looked up toward the bedroom door and saw Madeline approaching. She looked around at all three of them before answering. "Brenda has got a point, Jax. After what Thomas just said, I think it would be very dangerous to let either your father or your brother into the house, especially the library. They would feed into whatever Everett is planning." Madeline smiled at the expression on Thomas's face. "I'm sorry, Thomas. Did I startle you?"

Thomas wasn't sure what to say. He had heard Brenda talk of her meetings with Madeline. Even Jax had told him what he had experienced, but actually meeting her was something totally different. "Hello, Madeline" was about all he could manage.

Jax decided the best thing to do at this point was to just carry on a normal conversation. He was sure Thomas would join in when he was ready.

"What do you mean, Madeline? How would we be playing into Everett's hands?" Jax had an idea what she meant, but he really needed to hear her confirm it.

"From what I heard Thomas saying, both your father and your brother are very much like Everett - obsessed with business and profit. I have a feeling that he would find a way to use them to get the results he wants. No, for now I think you had better keep contact with your family limited only to you mother." Madeline had begun pacing as she spoke. Brenda was the first to notice how disturbed Madeline was becoming.

"Is something wrong, Madeline? You look upset about something." Brenda tightened her hold on Jax's hand.

"Not really. It's just that I am saddened by what Thomas said about your family. Jax, why would your father be willing to risk his relationship with you and the child Brenda is carrying?" Madeline truly did not understand someone who could do that.

Jax just shook his head and looked over at Brenda before answering. "It's actually very simple. See, when my folks first got married they didn't have much in the way of money. Once Jerry and I were born my father was desperate to make a better life for us, so he did whatever was necessary to make money. I guess after a while that he got so used to the money that he didn't care how he got it. When Jerry got old enough, he taught Jerry his business tactics, and then when I got old enough, the two of them taught me a FEW things. They neglected to let me in on the shadier side of their business." Brenda squeezed his hand in support as he continued his story.

"Anyway, when the government found out where J&J Jacks was getting its financing, they closed the company down and arrested the lot of us. I made a deal with the government that kept us all out of jail, but forfeited everything except my mother's home and her annuity from a trust that had been set up for her by a relative before she married my father. I also broke with my father and his way of doing business. I guess this is his way of teaching me a lesson, not to mention filling his pockets with my money." The bitterness was starting to show in Jax's voice. Brenda moved closer to him and placed her head on his shoulder.

Madeline could feel the pain in Jax's words. It made her more determined than ever to help him rid himself of not only the problems being caused by her Everett, but also those of his own family.

Madeline walked over to Jax and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "I promise you, Jax, that we will put an end to this situation before you ever have to deal with either of them again - whatever it takes!" Jax was startled to actually feel her hand on his arm. He was startled, yet it was also reassuring somehow.

Before speaking again, Jax smiled at Madeline. "I believe you, Madeline. Now what we need to do is figure out how we are going to handle Lady Jane. Should we keep her away from here to prevent her inadvertently telling things we want kept secret, or should we let her in the house?"

Madeline was the first to answer. "I think that you are going to have to let her in the house. How else is Everett going to know that you are starting to reconcile with your family? I mean, just hearing you talk about seeing your mother somewhere is not going to be nearly as convincing as actually seeing her in the house, especially the library. No, I think that for this to work that you are going to have to allow her in the house." Madeline could see the indecision in both Jax and Brenda's faces. She knew what she was asking was a lot, but she truly felt it was the only way for their plan to work.

Thomas was the next to speak. "I think that Madeline is right. The whole point of making contact with Lady Jane was to convince Everett that you were changing your way of thinking, letting a 'good influence' back into your life. I think the only way to convince him of that is for him to see her here in the house."

"They're right, Jax, and you know it. Besides, I think we should make a real effort when it comes to your mother, not just for show. Maybe it's because of how I feel about this baby, but I think we owe the little one our best effort at giving them a grandmother. If this doesn't work, we'll have the peace of mind knowing that we did everything we could to do that. That way, if our child asks about their grandparents in the future, we'll be able to tell them the truth. What do you say, Jax?" Brenda looked up into Jax's face. She looked deeply into his eyes and saw them change from confused to resolved.

"Okay, we'll give it a try. How soon should we set up our family meeting? I don't think we should rush into it. I think we should let them wonder if we've changed our minds. I think we should wait a few days and then set up another meeting, this time for all three of us." Everyone else in the room nodded their agreement. Jax squeezed Brenda close to him. She looked up into his face and liked the look she saw there. He was perfectly calm, and she could see the gears turning in his head as he was making plans for their next move.

Thomas looked over at Jax as well. He was glad to see that Jax was prepared for whatever this situation would bring. He knew that he was as well. Among the four - or rather, three - people in this room there was no way they were going to mess this up. Thomas turned to say something to Madeline and saw that she was gone. "Where did she go?" he asked no one in particular.

Brenda chuckled at the expression on Thomas's face. "Don't let it bother you, Thomas. She does that all the time!

"So what now?" She looked from Thomas to Jax.

"I think we should head back to the office for a while. We want everything to look normal. I also think that I'll start bringing small amounts of work home in the next few days." Jax could see the fear creep into Brenda's eyes even though she didn't say anything. He wrapped both arms around her before continuing. "Don't worry, Brenda. I'll just bring a few contracts to read - nothing major. After all, I AM still recovering from a serious accident." He winked mischievously at her and kissed the tip of her nose. "Ready to go, mate?" He looked over the top of Brenda's head at Thomas.

Jax's question finally brought Thomas back to reality. He had been staring at the spot where Madeline had disappeared. "Sure thing. I have to tell you, though… I'm not really sure how I'm going to describe all of this to my grandfather. He's NEVER going to believe me!"

Jax and Brenda both laughed at Thomas's reaction to Madeline. The three of them headed down the stairs. When they got to the foyer, Thomas kissed Brenda on the cheek. "I'll talk to you soon, luv." He looked over at Jax as well. "You, I'll see in the office in a little while!" He left them standing there and quickly went out the front door.

After Thomas was gone Jax wrapped his arms loosely around Brenda's waist. "I guess I should be going, too. I'll try to be home by 5:00, but I probably won't make it until closer to 6:00. Okay?" When Brenda started to object, she saw Jax glance toward the library. She knew that this was for Everett's benefit.

"I guess so. Just take it easy, okay? This is your first day back at the office, so remember what the doctor said: don't overdo it." She had a great deal of difficulty not laughing as she spoke.

"I know. I'll be home as soon as I can." With that said, Jax bent down and kissed her passionately several times. When he finally ended the kiss he released his hold on her and grabbed his coat off the table. I'll see you later." He winked at her before heading out the door. Brenda walked into the parlor to watch through the window as he drove away. Once he was gone, she headed off into the kitchen to talk to Benton and Mrs. Kelly about dinner.

Once he heard Brenda's voice in the kitchen Everett began to pace slowly around the library. He had heard the entire conversation in the foyer. He was glad to hear that Jax was planning to work a full day even on his first day back in the office. Maybe this change in plans the accident had caused had actually worked to his advantage. Maybe Jax had begun to realize what was most important. This situation would require watching. Everett slowly faded back into the shadows as he began to think of ways of convincing Jax to change his way of life.