May 6, 1999

11:45 A.M.

Jax and Brenda stepped off the elevator outside their penthouse. They both stopped outside the door, just staring at it. Neither of them had been here since the day they’d moved out. It seemed strange to be back, especially for the reason they were here. They had decided to keep the place as a getaway for when things got to be too much in their lives. Today they were bringing their lives to their getaway!

Jax took a deep breath and released it slowly. He inserted the key in the lock and opened the door all the way. Brenda walked in ahead of him and looked around. The place had not changed. The hotel had kept it immaculate, even making sure there were fresh flowers for today’s lunch.

As she looked around, Brenda could see that the table had already been set for three and the bar had been stocked with their favorites, including Brenda’s new favorite, sparkling apple cider. Brenda smiled at the sight of the cider and made a mental note to call Allison and thank her for remembering.

Jax called down to the front desk to let them know that he and Brenda had arrived and to send up their guest when she arrived. He looked to make sure that Brenda would not be able to hear what he said, and then instructed the front desk that if his father accompanied his mother, he was to be prohibited from coming up. If there was any type of problem, security was to turn both John and Lady Jane away – no questions! When he had the assurance of the manager that his instructions would be followed, Jax hung up the phone and looked around for Brenda.

While Jax had been on the phone, Brenda continued her exploration of the penthouse. She stood for a while staring out the wall of windows at the top of the stairs. She gently leaned against the window frame as memories came flooding back to her of the times she and Jax had stood looking out this window. She shuddered when she realized that many of those memories were not pleasant ones. Somehow though, they had managed to work through whatever the problem was and come through stronger on the other side. That thought brought a smile to her face.

She glanced over to Jax and saw he was still on the phone, so she continued exploring. When she got to their bedroom door she was surprised to see that the hotel staff had turned down the bed. She couldn't resist the urge to chuckle. They must have some reputation with the hotel staff! All they had to do was ask for lunch to be set up, and the staff automatically assumed that they would need the bedroom. She continued to look around the room without entering.

Suddenly she felt Jax’s arms wrap around her waist from behind. “What are you chuckling about?” he asked without ever looking up into the room.

She pointed into the bedroom before turning to look up into his face, “That!”

Jax kissed her quickly on the lips before looking up into the bedroom. When he saw the turned down bed, he let out a hearty laugh. “Goodness! You must have quite a reputation with the hotel staff, Mrs. Jacks, for them to ‘ASSUME’ you would be needing this room as well as the dining room!” Jax nuzzled down to kiss her several times along the bend of her neck.

Brenda tried to pull away from him before answering, but his arms were around her too tightly to move. “ME! I don’t think so, Mr. Jacks! After all, YOU were the one who lived here longer!” She looked up at him accusingly, “Is there something you’ve never told me about before we got together?” The smile on her face reassured him that she was joking.

“Welllll…” was all he had a chance to say before she turned around in his embrace and swatted him on the arm. He leaned down and kissed her passionately before finishing his answer, “You know the answer to that, Brenda.” He knew he didn’t need to say anything else, and so did she.

Just then the phone in the living room began to ring. Jax took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He pulled his arms from around Brenda and looked at his watch as the phone continued ringing. He headed back out to the living room to answer the phone, and Brenda took one last look at the bedroom, before heading back down herself. She had seen Jax’s watch and knew who was calling. She also took a deep breath and released it slowly. As she turned to head back to the living room she gently ran her hand across her abdomen. “Here we go, little one. You are about to meet your grandmother. Just remember what I told you this morning: things might be a little rough for a while, so just be patient. I really want everything to work out. I think you will love your grandmother. I know I always have, even with everything that’s happened.” Brenda slowly turned and headed back to the living room.

Just as she got to the head of the stairs, there was a knock at the door. Jax glanced up at Brenda with a questioning look on his face. She smiled reassuringly at him and placed her hand on her abdomen again. Jax knew immediately what she was telling him and returned her smile. He turned and headed to open the door.

When Jax opened the door, he found his mother standing on the other side, nervously adjusting her clothes. He was surprised to see her so nervous. As long as he could remember, he had never seen her anything but ready to take on anything or anyone. He wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or concerned to see her nervousness today. “Hello, Lady Jane. Won’t you come in?” He tried to keep his tone cordial, but when he glanced up at Brenda’s face he knew he had not succeeded. He had sounded distant, to the point of being cold.

Lady Jane seemed to ignore the tone in his voice. “Thank you, dear.” She walked into the living room and couldn’t resist the urge to look around the room. “My, everything looks the same.” Just then she looked up toward the wall of windows and saw Brenda standing at the head of the stairs, her hands clasped together across her abdomen. “Hello, dear, how are you feeling?”

“Hello, Jane. Actually, I’m feeling quite well, now that the morning sickness has stopped. Unfortunately, it’s been replaced with some of the strangest ‘cravings’…” Brenda looked over at Jax and winked at him.

Jax cleared his throat before saying anything. “Why don’t you have a seat? We have a lot to talk about.” Jax held out his hand toward one of the two couches facing each other. After Lady Jane took a seat on one, Jax walked over to the foot of the stairs and extended a hand to Brenda. Taking his hand, Brenda came down the stairs and they walked over and sat on the couch facing Lady Jane, still holding hands.

After several minutes of just sitting there, staring at each other, Brenda finally couldn’t stand the silence any longer. She looked first at Jax, and then at Lady Jane. “This is ridiculous! We are three adults sitting here like a bunch of school children, waiting for the other person to say something first!” She looked again at the two people sitting in the room with her, “One of us has got to say something, or this is going to be a very quiet lunch – not to mention a waste of an afternoon.” Jax just sat and stared at her for a minute, totally amazed that she had been able to put the whole situation out in the open in just a couple of sentences.

“Brenda’s right! This silence is not getting us anywhere! We came here to try to set things right between us, and sitting and staring at each other is not going to accomplish that.” He looked intently at Lady Jane, letting her know that if this was going to work, the first move had to be hers.

“I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I think I should be the one to get things started.” Lady Jane got up from the couch and walked over to the mantle, running her hand across it. “I remember the last time I was here, the little yacht was here. What became of it?” She looked at Brenda without any hint of accusation in her eyes.

“It’s on the mantle in the parlor of our home, just as I told you it always would be. It sits there along with Jax’s train and our box from New Orleans. They will always be on the mantle of our home, regardless of where that is!” The resolve obvious in Brenda’s voice was reassuring to Lady Jane. It reassured her that not everything had changed in their lives. They still remembered the promise of the yacht.

Lady Jane turned back to Jax and Brenda as she took a deep breath; this part was not going to be easy and would make or break the rest of the afternoon, let alone the rest of their lives. “Brenda, I owe you an apology. I said some pretty horrible things to you the last time we were here. I was looking for someone to blame for everything that went wrong with my family. I guess I couldn’t face the fact that what went wrong with the family had been there long before you came along. The fact that Jax stood by you, and not the rest of us, was just an excuse for me to not have to face the truth. I truly am sorry!”

The tears that had been forming in Lady Jane’s eyes were threatening to spill out as she spoke. “I know now that you had nothing to do with the government finding out about John and Jerry’s activities. I also know that you were not responsible for getting Jerry arrested at your house that day; that was his own stupidity. I was just so desperate to keep him out of jail that I lashed out at you for it. I found out when I got home that you and Jax had arranged for him to get off with a fine and a warning. I’m so sorry for what I said that night. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me? Do you think there is a chance we can start over?”

Before Brenda had a chance to answer Jane’s questions there was a gentle knock at the door. Jax got up to answer it. He opened the door for the room service waiter to bring in the cart with their lunch. After he had set up the table and Jax signed the check, Jax showed him to the door. Once they were alone again, Jax extended his hand toward the table. “I know we were in the middle of something, but how about if we put all discussions on hold until after lunch?” He walked over to where Brenda was sitting and extended a hand to help her up. “I have a feeling that the smallest member of the Jacks family must be pretty hungry by now. What do you say, mum?” Jax looked at Brenda with a smile.

Jane was startled when she realized that Jax was not talking to her, but to Brenda. She was amazed at the tenderness and concern in Jax’s eyes and his actions, as he wrapped his arms around Brenda from behind in an embrace and slid his hands down to caress her abdomen. Jane suddenly realized that what she saw before her was what she had always dreamed of for Jax. He had found a woman to love, who loved him totally, and they would soon have a child. A child that would make them a family of their own, one that she knew would NOT make the same mistakes hers had. She discreetly wiped the tears from her eyes before anyone had a chance to notice.

Conversation during lunch had been pretty limited. They had discussed the weather, Brenda’s new business, and a myriad of general subjects. There were long periods of silence where Jane would notice Brenda and Jax staring at each other briefly before returning to their meal. Once lunch was finished, Jax brought the coffee service over to the table between the couches, and they returned to the same seats they had occupied earlier.

After taking Jax’s hand in hers, Brenda decided the time had come to resume their conversation. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, all the while looking into Jax’s eyes reassuringly. “Jane, you asked me a couple of very difficult questions before lunch, and I think it’s time I answered them.” She turned to look directly at Jane “As to forgiving you for what you said that day…” Brenda squeezed Jax’s hand again before continuing, “I think that the best way to answer that is in two parts. For a long time after that day, I found myself truly hating you and the rest of your family. Not because of what you said to or about me, but because of the pain that you – all of you – caused Jax. You all seemed to think that I led Jax around by the nose, that he had no opinions but mine, and that if he disagreed with you, it had to be my fault. That day you said some pretty horrible things to me, but what you didn’t realize was the pain you were causing someone you claimed to love. I understand you were angry about everything that had happened and that you were protecting your child. I understand that much better now that I’m going to have a child of my own. But you didn’t seem to realize that you were protecting Jerry at Jax’s expense, and I would not – could not – tolerate that!”

Brenda took another deep breath before continuing, “Over the past few months I’ve given this whole mess a lot of thought, and I now know that you were a victim in all of this, as well. Not to the extent that Jax was, since you were a willing conspirator, but a victim, nonetheless. You were expected to choose between protecting your husband and firstborn son, and telling your youngest son the truth about his father and brother. You knew what Jax’s reaction would be. He would walk away from all of you, which is exactly what he did after everything came out. You had to have someone to blame, besides yourself, since you had long ago rationalized that you were doing what was best for Jax. I became that reason. You had to blame me because you knew how much Jax loved me and how much we had been through together and survived. It was easier for you to live with what you had done for all those years if you could blame me for forcing Jax away from you.”

Brenda’s voice had begun to quiver, as her emotions were starting to get out of control. Jax wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close to him. He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks and whispered reassurances in her ear. Brenda slowly nodded her head and took a deep breath before continuing, “Sorry about that… I seem to cry a lot lately,” she said as she managed a slight smile.

“Anyway, to answer your question: yes, I think I can forgive you.” Jane couldn’t resist the urge to smile, but Brenda held up her hand to stop Jane from saying anything just yet. “Wait – I told you this answer had two parts. Yes, I’m willing to forgive you for what was said that day, but you need to be aware that I will NOT FORGET what was said that day. Jane, you hurt the person I love more than life itself that day, and that is NOT something that I can easily forget. Do you understand what I’m saying?” She looked intently at Jane, her sincerity obvious in her face.

Jane was surprised and pleased by the answer Brenda had given her. It was not what she had expected. Brenda had not been looking for an apology for herself; she was looking to make Jane understand what she had done to Jax. Jane realized that she had been right in her original opinion of Brenda – she WAS everything that Jax deserved. “I understand, Brenda. I can only promise that I will do my best not to intentionally hurt either one of you ever again. I know I have a lot of mistakes to make up for. Do you think there’s a chance we can try again?” She looked first at Brenda, then at Jax, and then back to Brenda.

Brenda and Jax looked at each other before answering. “That was the reason for this lunch, Jane – to see if there was anything left on which to rebuild our relationship.” Brenda smiled at Jane before continuing, “We would like to give it a try – with a few conditions! Are you willing?” Jax wrapped his arm around Brenda’s shoulders and pulled her closer to him. She did not resist. She felt drained already, and they were not finished yet. When she leaned her head on Jax’s shoulder, he looked down at her, concern obvious in his eyes. She looked up at him to let him know she was okay, just tired.

Jane couldn’t contain the excitement in her voice, “Yes! I’ll do anything if you two will give me another chance. What are the conditions?” She was eager to hear what they had to say. This had already been much more than she had expected and gone much better than she had ever dreamed.

Knowing how exhausted Brenda was, Jax took over the conversation. “We aren’t looking for anything you probably aren’t already expecting. We’re willing to give it a try as long as you don’t try to bring the rest of the family into the equation. I’m not ready for either of them to be anywhere near Brenda just yet!” The cold, hard look in Jax’s eyes made Jane shudder. She couldn’t remember ever seeing that kind of hatred in Jax’s face. It frightened her to think that his own father and brother had put that look there.

“I understand, Jax. I promise I won’t do anything on behalf of either one of them. I really want this to work. I truly do want to be a part of your family, for you and for my grandchild. If that means you never letting any of the others into your family, I’ll have to accept that.”

“Before this goes any further, there is something you need to be aware of – something that happened after you left the restaurant the other day. I’m not sure if you noticed, but Thomas was sitting in the booth next to ours. After I left, he heard your conversation with John.” Jane became nervous, as she tried to think back to what had been said that day. Before she could remember, Jax continued, “What you don’t know is that after you left, John called Jerry and told him about your conversation. He also told Jerry that if we wouldn’t let them back into our lives that it wouldn’t be a problem for them to get information from you, so that they could undermine my business so that I would be forced to ask them for help.”

Jane was shocked by what Jax had just said, but she had no doubt that it was true. She had no idea that John had so little regard, not just for Jax, but for her as well. He was willing to risk her only chance at reconciliation for his obsession to beat Jax in business. She suddenly became frightened that as a result of John she was going to lose this chance. “Jax, I swear to you that I had no idea!”

Jax could see the fear in his mother’s face and reached out to pat her hand. “I know that, Lady Jane. We both do. I’m telling you all of this so that you’ll understand what you’re dealing with. We’re both going to try very hard to make this work, but you have to help as well. You need to understand that when you come to the house, there will be places you will not be permitted to go – EVER! There will be times, at least for a while, when you will be excluded from conversations. Until we feel we can trust you again, we are all going to be walking on eggshells. Can you understand that?”

“Yes, Jax, I can. I promise you that I will abide by your rules. And… thank you for telling me what went on after I left the other day. I had no idea.” Jax could see the pain on his mother’s face. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her when he told her; he just wanted to warn her. “Can we still give this a try?” The fear was still obvious on her face.

Brenda reached out to her, taking Jane’s hand in both of hers. “Of course, we can, Jane. We wanted you to know what you are up against when you get home.” Brenda looked at Jax quickly before continuing. “I think it probably would be a good idea not to say anything to John or Jerry about what Thomas heard. No sense in letting them know we’re on to them. That way they won’t have a chance to change their plan of attack. Can you do that?”

Jane smiled and quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You bet I can! I can keep a secret with the best of them, you know!” Suddenly the smile disappeared from Jane’s face when she realized what she had just said. It wasn’t until both Jax and Brenda burst into laughter that she again relaxed. “I guess you two already knew that didn’t you?” She chuckled this time with them.

For the next forty-five minutes the conversation amongst this reuniting family became easier and easier. They talked about the baby, Brenda’s morning sickness, the house, and their lives in general. It wasn’t until Jax glanced at his watch that he realized the time had come to say good-bye.

“I hate to be a party pooper, but it’s nearly 2:00. Brenda and I both have to get back to work.” He stood up and extended a hand to Brenda to help her up. Jane got up as well, and the group headed toward the door. “Thanks for coming, Lady Jane. How about the next time we get together we do it at the house?”

Jane’s face brightened. “I’d love that, Jax! Brenda?”

Brenda nodded her head, “Of course. Just remember that you cannot tell either John or Jerry that you’ve been there. It would probably be better if you didn’t mention seeing us at all. Okay?” The seriousness of her concern was obvious to Jane.

“I understand. I won’t mention anything to either one of them. Just to be safe, I don’t think I’ll tell them about today either. I didn’t tell either one of them where I was going or why, so I think it’s best to leave it that way. I’ll stop off and do some shopping on the way home so they won’t feel compelled to ask questions about my day.”

As they reached the door, Jane leaned forward and hugged Brenda. She started to do the same to Jax but pulled back, not sure he was ready for that yet. She was startled when he embraced her.

When he pulled back from the embrace, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a business card. “This has both of our cell phone numbers. Don’t worry, the numbers are untraceable. It probably would be a good idea to use either one of these when you want to call us. That way if anyone finds the card, they won’t be able to use the numbers to trace anything.” Jax handed her the card and smiled softly. “We really want this to work, mum – really we do. Let’s just take this one step at a time and not rush it. Okay?”

Jane reached up and touched the sides of both their faces, “Okay. I’ll talk to you soon. And, Brenda, thank you especially.”

This confused Brenda. “I don’t think I understand?”

“For loving my son so much. You had enough love for him to put his pain before your own anger. I don’t think I ever understood how much you really do love him until today. Thank you for being there for him when all the rest of us were causing him so much pain. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank you enough for that. I promise you though, I will do everything in my power to make sure it never happens again to ANY of you!”

With tears in her eyes again, Brenda gave Jane a long hug. “I believe you, Jane. You know what? I think this just might work out!” She smiled and hugged Jane again before opening the door for her. “Call me soon. We’ll set up a time for you to come see the house.”

After Jane left, Brenda slowly closed the door and leaned back against it. She closed her eyes for a minute before saying anything. “That went a lot better than I had expected. What did you think Jax?” Brenda opened her eyes and was startled to see Jax staring at her. “What?”

“You! You amaze me, that’s what! I cannot believe how well things went, thanks to you!” Jax reached up and cupped the side of Brenda’s face.

She leaned into his hand, “ME! What did I do?”

“It wasn’t what you did; it was what you said, about what happened that day. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as loved or protected as I did when you were telling mum how you felt. Thank you for that.” Jax leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. He glanced at his watch and let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, we both need to get going right about now. Is your client meeting at the house?”

As they both went to get their coats, Brenda answered. “Actually, no. It’s right here in the hotel, in the Grill.” Suddenly Brenda’s face lit up. “I have a great idea! Since I’m already going to be here the rest of the afternoon and your office is not that far from here, why don’t we spend the night here!” The twinkle in Brenda’s eyes brought a smile to Jax’s face.

“Why, Brenda! What do you have in mind?” The twinkle in Jax’s eyes was a match to hers. “What would the staff think?”

Brenda laughed, “Exactly what they already think! Come on, let’s do it! I’ll stop at the desk and arrange for dinner to be sent up, and you call Benton and tell him we won’t be home tonight. What do you say?” She looked like a little girl on Christmas morning.

Jax couldn’t resist her when she was like this, and he hoped he never would be able to. “If you insist…” He quickly wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately.

Once he broke the kiss, Brenda looked up at him as she tried to catch her breath. “What was that for?”

“Oh, nothing special – just a warm up for tonight. You never can tell when one of those ‘sympathy cravings’ might strike.” With that said, he kissed her again and picked up Brenda’s briefcase for her and opened the door. “I’ll see you back here about 6:00. Okay?”

“Sounds good to me.” Brenda pulled the door shut behind her, as Jax pressed the button for the elevator. “I’ll be waiting for you to get back.” Just then the elevator doors opened and they got in. When the elevator reached the lobby, the people waiting to get in were treated to a familiar site for hotel staff members: Mr. and Mrs. Jasper Jacks kissing passionately in the elevator.

5:45 P.M.

True to his word, Jax stepped off the elevator a full fifteen minutes early. Just as he reached to put his key in the lock, the door flew open and Brenda jumped up into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Jax was so startled that he dropped what he was carrying, with a thud. Brenda kissed him several times all over his face before finally pulling back to look at him. “You’re early!” was all she said before sliding down him until her feet touched the floor. She reached down to pick up Jax’s briefcase and noticed the other bag he had been carrying. “What’s that?”

Jax glanced down to where she was pointing and smiled. “Well, I figured since we were going to be spending the night here, we’d need a few things for tomorrow. When I called Benton to tell him we wouldn’t be home tonight, I asked him to pack a bag for us. He dropped it by the office a little while ago.” Jax wrapped his arms around Brenda’s waist and pulled her close to him again. “Are we going to stand out here in the hallway all night, or what?” He kissed her passionately before she had a chance to answer. When he finally ended their kiss, they were both flustered. Brenda reached for his briefcase and Jax grabbed the overnight bag and they went into the penthouse, locking the door behind them.

Brenda set his briefcase on the desk, and he took the overnight bag over to the top of the stairs. When he turned back into the room, he was startled at what he saw. The room looked totally different than it had this afternoon. Their dinner had been set up on the table in front of a roaring fire. Even though it was early May, there was still a chill in the evening air, and since he had not bothered with a topcoat this morning, he appreciated the fire. The lights in the room had not been turned on, but dozens of white candles had been lit. As he finished looking around the room, his gaze came to rest on Brenda. It was the first chance he had to take in her appearance. She was standing in front of him, wearing one of the dress shirts he had left here for a night like this. As he stood staring at her, his mind drifted back to other nights in front of the fire here. He was finally pulled from his memories by the sound of Brenda’s voice.

“Hey! Where were you just now?” Brenda asked, as she reached up and stroked the side of his face.

Jax loved the smile on her face. “I was just thinking about some of the other nights we’ve had dinner in front of this fire, that’s all.” He reached out to caress the side of her face as he spoke. Brenda turned her face into his hand and placed a gentle kiss in the center.

“What do you say we have our dinner before we get sidetracked?” She kissed his hand again and headed toward the table, leading him by the hand. They sat together on the pillows she had tossed on the floor and proceeded to enjoy their dinner, talking about what had happened during the afternoon hours they had been apart. “Matthew and I signed a new client this afternoon. I showed them photos of the inside of our house and then we showed them the photos of the house we’re finishing up, and they were VERY impressed.”

“Congratulations! Where’s the house at?” Jax could see how excited Brenda was at the prospect of the new project. Now that she was no longer struggling with morning sickness, she seemed to have boundless energy, except late in the afternoon, that is.

“Oh, that’s the best part! You know that huge gray house at the end of our block? That’s it! Jax you have to meet the owners; they are the nicest people. They’re newlyweds, actually. They’ve only been married for about a year and this is their first house, so they want everything to be perfect! And do you know what the best part is? They’re giving us total control on the decoration! Isn’t that amazing?”

Jax loved to see Brenda this excited. She was like a child in a candy shop. “Well, at least you won’t have far to go to work in the mornings, will you?” he said with a chuckle. He paused for a minute and then looked seriously at her. “Wait a minute! What do you mean they are still newlyweds, since they’ve only been married a year. We’ve only been married six months!”

Brenda smiled at the pout on his face. She reached over and ran her fingertips lightly across his chest. “I know technically you’re right, but that date doesn’t count. We’ve been together forever – at least that’s how I feel – so the anniversary of that ceremony is not as important as the first one.” Brenda suddenly turned from playful to serious. “Does that make any sense to you, Jax?” Jax could see the confusion in her eyes.

“Actually it makes perfect sense. I feel the same way. I have felt we were married since the first time on the Isabella. Forget everything that happened that made the last ceremony necessary. To me, we’ve been married for over three years, so I guess you’re right: we don’t qualify as newlyweds anymore.” Jax smiled and reached forward to pull her close to him. As he leaned in to kiss her Brenda scooted closer to him, so she could wrap her arms around him. As their kisses increased in passion, they slowly lay down on the floor, and without ever stopping their kisses, began to make love.

As they lay cuddled together in front of the fire afterward, covered by the couch throw, Brenda began to slowly rub her fingertips across Jax’s bare chest. “That was better than any dessert I could have planned,” she said with a sigh, as she snuggled closer into Jax’s embrace.

Jax smiled as he looked down at her, “Well, it was the least I could do after that spectacular dinner you arranged.” Brenda looked up at his smiling face and reached forward to kiss him. When she snuggled back down into his embrace, he felt her shiver slightly. “Are you cold?” he asked.

“A little. I guess there is more of a chill in here than I thought. Just hold me closer and I’ll be fine.” Brenda wrapped herself tightly around him, as he pulled the throw up tighter around her.

“I have a better idea. There is a nice warm bed waiting for us in the other room. Why don’t we move this party in there? He put his index finger gently under her chin and tilted it upward to look into her face. “What do you say?”

Brenda smiled as she looked up at him. “I guess you’re right. I just hate to move from here! It’s so ‘familiar!’” she said with a laugh.

Jax sighed and shook his head; “I wonder about you sometimes, Brenda…” was all he said. He slowly unwrapped her from around him and reached under her knees and shoulders to lift her into a sitting position against him. He tucked the throw tightly around her and got up. He carried her into the bedroom and placed her gently on the bed. He turned to pull up the covers and was surprised when he turned back and saw that Brenda had removed the throw and was lying there, naked, with her arms extended to him. As he crawled into bed to join her, he pulled up the covers and sighed deeply, “The things I do to satisfy your cravings!” he said with a sigh. They made love again; this time with an intensity that blew them both away.

As they lay together afterwards enjoying the afterglow, Brenda was the first to break the silence, "I think things went really well this afternoon, don’t you, Jax?”

“If you mean with Lady Jane, yeah, I do. I’ll admit I hadn’t expected her to be so understanding. I was glad she reacted the way she did.” He took a deep breath and let it out before continuing, “I think you were responsible for a lot of that, though.”

Brenda had been dozing off when she heard his last statement and was instantly brought back to reality. “Me! What did I do?” She stacked her hands on his chest and rested her chin on them, so she could look at him when he spoke to her.

“When you explained how you felt after what happened last time. I was watching her face while you were talking, and I have to tell you I have never seen the look I saw there on her face EVER before. She really hadn’t understood what she or the rest of them had done to me or to us. Those few words from you brought it all into focus for her! That’s what I meant.” Jax reached down and gently stroked the length of her bare back with the backs of his fingers. He was surprised when he looked into her eyes and saw tears there. “Honey, what’s wrong?” He reached toward her face and gently wiped the tears away with the tips of his fingers.

“Oh, nothing! I’m just getting so sentimental lately! I can’t help feeling that was one of the sweetest things you’ve ever said to me, that’s all.” She started to laugh softly as the tears continued to fall. She raised her head slightly from his chest and wiped her cheeks with both hands, “This is so silly!”

Jax lifted her face to his and kissed her passionately. “There is NOTHING silly about you, Brenda – especially not these tears!” He took her face in both of his hands and kissed her again and again, as they began to make love for the third time that evening. Once they were both totally satisfied and totally exhausted, they fell asleep wrapped around each other. Neither of them had any idea what the future held, but they knew that they would face it together, and that was all that mattered. For tonight they would enjoy this place and each other. Tomorrow would be soon enough to get back to the real world.