June 3, 1999

Jax and Brenda had gotten up early. Jax had an early meeting on the latest acquisition he had pending, and Brenda was expecting Katie to help with the initial design sketches for the clients to review. After enjoying a quick breakfast together, Jax and Brenda went to the library to pick up his briefcase. As Jax walked behind his desk, he noticed that his briefcase was open, as was the top file in the case, which had obviously been rifled. "That's strange," Jax said as he looked around the room.

"What is, honey?" Brenda looked at Jax and saw the concern in his face. "Is something wrong?" She started to look around the room as well.

"I don't think so. It's just that I distinctly remember closing this file last night and the briefcase, too, now that I think about it…" Jax looked around the room again, one more time before focusing his gaze on Brenda.

Brenda quickly realized what Jax was NOT saying. "I'm sure you must be wrong, Jax. I don't remember seeing you close it when I came in last night." She winked at him to let him know she understood what he was doing. Jax returned her wink with a smile of his own.

"You're probably right. I was just so excited at seeing you last night that I must have forgotten to close the case. Oh, well, no harm done." Jax looked at his watch. "Yikes! I'm going to be late if I don't get a move on." He closed the case and picked it up before he came back around the desk and wrapped his arm around Brenda's waist. "Want to walk me to the door, beautiful?" he asked as he kissed her cheek.

"Oh, I guess I can manage that…" Brenda said with a chuckle. The two of them headed out the door toward the foyer. As they left, Everett came out from the shadows where he had been watching, furious with himself. It had been a stupid mistake, leaving the briefcase open. He felt fortunate that Jax's wife had forgotten seeing him close the case before leaving last night. He was going to have to be more careful in the future if he was going to accomplish his goals. Everett quickly headed back to the shadows when he heard someone approach.

After giving Jax a proper goodbye, Brenda came back into the library. She came around the desk and sat in Jax's chair, wrapping her arms around herself and tucking her feet underneath her as she just enjoyed the feel and the smell of Jax all around her. Eventually she took a deep breath and reached for the phone. She quickly dialed the number and waited for an answer. "Hi, Jane, it's Brenda."

"Hello, dear. How are you?" Jane smiled when she recognized Brenda's voice.

"I'm fine thanks."

"Good. How's the baby doing?"

"The baby is fine, too." Brenda could tell that neither John nor Jerry was home by the friendly tone in Jane's voice. "The reason I'm calling is to see if you are free for lunch tomorrow. Jax and I thought it was time that you see where we live." Brenda waited for Jane's response. She could tell by the sound of her breathing that Jane was excited at the prospect of finally being invited to their home.

"I'd love to! Are you sure it's a good time?" The meaning behind Jane's statement was obvious to both women.

"Jax and I talked about it last night, and we decided that there is no sense in waiting any longer. If this reconciliation is really going to work we need to actively work at it. What do you say? About 1:30?" Brenda's eyes darted around the room to look for any of the signs Jax had told her about that Everett was there. She didn't see anything. That didn't mean he wasn't there though; just that he was probably just being careful.

"One-thirty is fine. Will Jax be there as well?" Jane was hoping that her first visit to her son's home would be not only with her daughter-in-law, but her son as well.

"I hope so. Things have been kind of crazy at the office for him the past couple of weeks, so I don't know if he'll be able to get away. I'll make it a point of asking him to clear his schedule for at least a little while tomorrow though. If not, I'm sure we can entertain ourselves, don't you think?" Brenda smiled at the thought of Jane coming to the house. She really wanted Jane back in their lives as well as the baby's, ghost or no ghost! She missed the long talks that they used to have before everything that John and Jerry had done had come to light. Jane had really been the only mother Brenda had ever known, and she missed the closeness they had been able to develop in the beginning. Even after everything that had happened, Brenda really wanted that closeness back - she needed it - especially now.

"Oh, I'm sure we can think of something to talk about, dear," Jane said with a chuckle.

Brenda glanced quickly around the room, "Don't forget what Jax told you the last time, Jane. Do you think that will present a problem?" Brenda was trying to remind Jane not to say anything to John or Jerry about where she would be going tomorrow. Brenda didn't want anyone else to figure out what she meant yet either.

Jane had very quickly figured out what Brenda was referring to. "I understand, dear. I don't think there will be any problem. I do think that we are going to have to come up with something to tell them though. I think they are both beginning to wonder why you haven't been in touch with me since that lunch at the Grill. Hopefully, we can come up with something tomorrow. I will need your address though, dear."

Jane's last statement surprised Brenda. Since Jerry's arrest for trespassing at the house before they had moved in, both she and Jax had figured that his family had probably checked out everything there was to know about the house. "Why don't I just have a car come for you tomorrow? Can you be ready about 1:00?" Brenda was not too sure she wanted to give Jane the address on the phone. She knew Jane well enough to know that she would write it down so as not to forget. There was always the off chance that John or Jerry would see and recognize the address. She didn't want them to know what was going on just yet.

Jane realized why Brenda did not want to give her the address and understood her concern. "That's probably a better idea, dear. Sure, I'll be ready by 1:00. I'll keep an eye out for the car. See you tomorrow, luv." Jane smiled as she hung up the phone. She had been dreaming of tomorrow for so long that she had actually started to give up hope that it would ever happen. Now, with Brenda's phone call, her whole world seemed to be a little brighter. There was finally hope that she would be able to see her first grandchild when it was born.

Brenda slowly hung up the phone. She sat back in Jax's chair, staring at the phone for several minutes. She hoped that Everett had heard her conversation with Jane and would realize that she and Jax were doing exactly what he wanted, starting to bring Jax's family back into their lives. When she glanced over at the clock on Jax's desk, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She got up and headed out the door to get dressed. Katie would be here soon to work on the sketches.

After Brenda left the library, Everett came out of the shadows once again. This time he was smiling as he walked toward the desk, quite pleased with himself and the entire situation. Things were definitely going as he wanted. As soon as the reconciliation with his mother was complete, it was only a matter of time before Jax reconciled with both his father and his brother. This was something that would allow Jax to develop the talents that Everett knew he had in him, but for some reason he didn't want to use. Everett rubbed his chin slowly as he faded back into the shadows, thinking of ways to encourage this reconciliation.

Offices of Jacks International

Jax had gotten to his office just as the next crisis was breaking. As soon as he walked into this office and set down his briefcase, the bell on the fax machine went off. When he went over to get it, what he found there infuriated him. There had been an attempt to take over one of the subsidiaries of a conglomerate he had recently acquired. When he had purchased the conglomerate, he liked its structure so much that he had decided to keep it in tact for the time being and to see what would happen with new management. So far things had been going very well. The monthly financial reports he had ordered had been showing an increase in the corporate revenue. It was not enough to say they had turned the financial problems around, but enough to make it obvious to anyone looking at the reports that they were definitely on the right track.

In order for this improvement to continue, it was necessary for all elements of the conglomerate to remain in tact. The fax he had just received indicated that someone was making a serious attempt to destroy one of the smaller companies in the conglomerate. Whoever was doing this knew exactly which company to go after. The one they tried for was the lynch pin in the fiscal rebirth of the entire conglomerate. For now the takeover attempt had been stopped but not eliminated. Jax needed to find out immediately who was behind it and stop them! He walked quickly back to his desk and picked up the phone. He called both Travis and Thomas to come to his office immediately. As he waited for them to arrive, he sat down and loosened his tie. He read the fax again before throwing it down on his desk. He ran his fingers through his hair and rested his forehead in his hands, realizing that this was NOT going to be a good day!

His thoughts were interrupted by a light knock at the door. "Come in." Jax looked up as Allison opened the door for Travis and Thomas. "Thanks for getting here so quickly. Allison, would you please hold all my calls." As Allison turned to leave, Jax had a last minute thought. "I'm afraid that includes my wife as well, Allison." He could see the surprise on his secretary's face. This must be serious. Mr. Jacks never refused calls from his wife. "If she does call, tell her I'm in a meeting and I'll call her back as soon as I finish. Unless it's an emergency, that is." He nodded to Allison that she could leave and she did so, closing the door behind her. Jax pointed to the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat, guys. We may be here for a while. Coffee?" Jax pointed at the fresh pot of coffee on the credenza. Both Thomas and Travis went over to fix a cup.

For the next three hours Jax, Travis, and Thomas stayed behind closed doors, discussing all the possible sources of the threat against the conglomerate. No matter how far they reached, all of them came back to the same culprit - J&J Jacks!

Once they all agreed on the most likely source of the attack, Jax gave both Travis and Thomas instructions to get all the information they could on the takeover attempt and get back to him before the close of business today. When they finished, Travis got up to leave but Thomas stayed behind. Jax knew immediately that there was something on Thomas's mind that he didn't want to discuss in front of Travis. He nodded to Travis to go ahead. Travis left, closing the door behind him.

"What's up, Thomas? I know you've got something to say." Jax looked over at his friend. "Whatever this is, it's not about the takeover attempt, is it?"

Thomas hesitated for a second. "No you're right, actually, it's not. I talked to my grandfather last night about what's been going on in the house." Thomas paused for a minute before continuing. "Are you sure you want to get into this now? I mean with all this trouble here, this will keep, you know."

Jax shook his head. "No! If it has to do with the house and the safety of my family I want to talk about it now. What did he have to say?"

"Well, he has been talking with the counsel of elders and they have some theories about Everett. Now a lot of what they said is based upon interpretation and opinion…"

Thomas seemed to be having a hard time getting to the point. Jax knew it was not good news if he was having this much trouble. "Come on, Thomas; spit it out."

"Okay, here goes: they think that there is some evil intent in Everett's presence in the house." Thomas waited for Jax's reaction before continuing. He was surprised when there was no reaction from Jax. "Jax, did you hear what I said?"

"I heard you, Thomas. I'm just having some trouble figuring out where they got that idea."

Thomas sat forward in his chair, as if to confide a secret. "They think that since he seems to be bound to the library, whatever his intentions are, the only reason he is back in the house is because his furniture was brought back to its original home. Something happened either in the house or in London after he moved there that has tied him to this world. Usually that means some act of violence or unfulfilled goal or a tragedy of some kind."

"So, how do we find out which?" Jax also leaned forward, resting his arms on his desk.

"That I'm not sure of. Before all this with the takeover attempt came up, I was going to suggest that I go to London to see what I could find out about Everett Stanhope's life and business practices while he was there. Now, with all of this though, I think I should take care of things here first. I don't think I should leave right now."

"I disagree. I think you must go to London. Immediately!" Jax reached for his phone. "Can you be ready in a hour? I'll have the company plane waiting for you." Jax began to dial the airport private plane terminal.

Thomas reached over and stopped him. "Wait, Jax! Think about this for a minute! I really don't think this is the time for me to be going to London. I could be stuck there for several days."

Jax hung up the phone and looked over at his friend. "All the more reason for you to go now."

Before Thomas had a chance to answer Jax's phone buzzed. "Yes, Allison?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Mr. Jacks, but Mrs. Jacks is on the phone. Since I saw Mr. Clark leave, I thought it would be okay to put her call through. Do you want me to take a message?" Allison was hoping she had done the right thing. She knew her boss's attitude about not following instructions, but she also knew that he and Mr. Abenela were friends so she had taken the chance.

"Thanks, Allison, I'll take her call." Jax held up his hand to Thomas, who was starting to get up, to let him know that he did not want him to leave yet. "Hi, luv! What's up?" Thomas knew immediately that Brenda was on the other end of the phone and settled back into his chair.

"I wanted you to check your calendar for tomorrow afternoon and see if you were free for a 1:30 lunch here at the house." Brenda purposely left off the last piece of information.

"I don't think I can make it, luv. It looks like J&J Jacks is making a run at a subsidiary company we own, as a way to destroy a recent acquisition, and I really need to be here to keep an eye on things. Why? What's up?" Jax knew Brenda very well. He knew there was something she had not told him yet.

"Well, I called Jane this morning and invited her to lunch tomorrow. I thought it would be a good idea if you could be here. I promise you can leave right after lunch! PLEASE!" She crossed her fingers as she waited for his answer. It didn't take long.

"In that case, I guess I can clear some time. What time is she coming?" Jax looked up at Thomas and gave him a thumbs up signal.

"I told her I'd have a car pick her up about 1:00. Is that okay? Can you arrange that for me?" She paused for a minute before continuing, "Oh, and Jax, I called her from the library so anyone interested in such things would know about it." Jax could see the smile on her face through the phoneline. She was very proud of herself.

Jax couldn't resist the urge to smile himself. "Well, in that case, how can I refuse? I know just the person to pick her up, too. He's sitting right in front of me." Jax winked at Thomas when he saw the confused expression on his face as he pointed to himself. Jax slowly nodded his head. "I better get going, luv. We'll talk about this when I get home. Okay?"

"You bet. Any idea when that will be?" Brenda knew that if there was a problem involving John and Jerry that Jax wouldn't want to leave the office.

"I shouldn't be too late. Travis has to do some checking for me before I can make any decisions. I'll try to be there by 6:00." Jax was about to say goodbye, when he remembered he had not asked how the baby was doing. "Hey, I forgot to ask you how you're feeling? How's the little one?"

Brenda chuckled before answering, "I wondered when you were going to get around to that. We're both fine. That reminds me. You ARE planning to go to my next appointment with Dr. Meadows, aren't you?"

Jax leaned back in his chair and spoke softly. "Of course I am, luv. It's already on my schedule as a non-cancelable appointment. I really do need to get going, luv. I love you."

"I love you, too. See you for dinner." Brenda gently hung up the phone. She got up from her desk and headed downstairs to talk to Mrs. Kelly about tonight's dinner.

After hanging up with Brenda, Jax looked over at Thomas. "Well, I guess you can hold off on the trip to London, mate. Brenda's invited Lady Jane over for lunch at the house tomorrow."

Thomas smiled, "I take it that's who you want me to pick up tomorrow?"

"If you wouldn't mind, of course. I figure it would be the perfect excuse for you to be at the house for lunch as well. Will you do it?" Jax looked to Thomas for his answer.

Thomas rubbed his chin a couple of times before answering, "Sure, why not?" Thomas got up from his chair and headed for the door. He stopped when he reached the door and turned back to Jax. "Wait a minute! I thought nothing was more important than checking on Everett?"

Jax got up and headed toward Thomas. "I think that can wait for a few days. I'm pretty sure Everett will be pleased when he sees Lady Jane in the house, so I think we won't have to worry about him for now. Besides, I have a feeling J&J Jacks is going to be a bigger problem than Everett, right now anyway."

"I'm afraid you're probably right. Jax, do you think Lady Jane will tell you if she knows anything about what Jerry and John are up to?" Thomas was not as sure they could trust Lady Jane as Brenda was and as Jax seemed to be.

"If she knows anything about it, I think she will. Thomas, you should have seen her at the penthouse. She really wants to make this reconciliation to work. I also think she understands how devious John and Jerry really are now. I'm hoping that making peace with us and being allowed to be a part of her grandchild's life mean more to her than helping them undermine my business."

"I hope you're right, Jax. You've got a lot riding on being able to trust her. I'll get started on my background check of Everett by phone. I have a few contacts in London that I can call. I'll have them get things started for me so that when I do go over there I'll at least have a place to start." He opened the door of Jax's office and started out. Jax called to him as he was leaving.

"Thanks for all your help with this situation, Thomas." Thomas nodded to Jax before he turned to leave. He knew Jax was not talking about the takeover attempt.

6:15 P.M.

True to his word, Jax walked in the front door just after 6:00. He had somehow managed to not bring any work home with him tonight, not even his briefcase. He had decided that he had been spending too much time on work and not enough time with his wife, so he made it a point of getting everything finished he could before leaving the office. Travis had needed more time anyway to check on the attempt on the conglomerate, so he would not be reporting back to Jax before tomorrow morning. As he was driving home, he had also decided to prevent any possible problems at home by not going anywhere near the library at all tonight.

Brenda was coming down the stairs when Jax opened the door. She was surprised to see that he had not brought any work home. She had come to pretty much expect it every night. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Jax was waiting for her with outstretched arms. She quickly came into his embrace, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "Hello, you!" She tilted her face up to him for a kiss, which he eagerly supplied.

"Hello to you, too. As promised I made it home by 6:00." Jax wrapped his arms more tightly around her.

"I noticed. I also noticed that you don't have your briefcase. Does that mean what I think it means?" She looked up at him with a smile.

"Well, if you think that means that I managed to finish all my work before leaving the office so that I could spend the entire evening alone with my wife, then, yes, that's what it means." Jax returned her smile. He pulled back from their embrace to fully look at her for the first time since getting home. There was something different about her this evening; he just couldn't figure out what it was. He did notice that she was wearing a new outfit though. "New outfit?" he asked.

She smiled shyly at him and looked down. "Actually, yes, it is. What do you think?" Jax looked more closely at her clothes. She was wearing a light gray silk, big shirt over a pair of wide leg black pants and a pair of lower heel black shoes. "Well?"

"It looks great." He knew there was something he was missing, but for the life of him he could not figure out what it was. "Okay, what am I missing here?" his confusion was obvious on his face. Brenda was ecstatic! She had managed to stump him. Brenda smiled at him as she slowly lifted the front of her shirt to reveal the maternity panel in the pants. "Brenda! Are those what I think they are?" The surprise on his face made Brenda laugh.

"Yes, they are. I hope you don't mind! I know we said we'd take a shopping trip to New York when it was time to buy my maternity clothes, but I was in Wyndom's this afternoon and I saw this outfit. I just couldn't resist it!" Jax had to laugh as Brenda spoke. She always sounded like a little girl on Christmas when she talked about shopping.

He put his hands on her shoulders before he said anything. "Of course I don't mind, silly! You can buy whatever you want for yourself whenever you want! You know that!" He slowly spun her around in front of him to get a good look at her. "Besides, you look great in the outfit. Is it comfortable?" He had noticed lately that she was starting to get uncomfortable in more and more of her regular clothes. Ever since the baby had started to show, even though only slightly, she was finding more and more of her clothes either too tight or very uncomfortable. He had also noticed she was wearing more and more of his dress shirts as well.

"Actually, it's extremely comfortable. I guess I've been trying to put off wearing maternity clothes for as long as possible, but after having this on I think it's time we planned that trip to New York. What do you say?" She smiled at him with that twinkle he loved so much in her eyes.

He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist again before answering, "I think that's a great idea. How about this weekend?"

Brenda's face lit up. "Perfect!" Just then there was the quiet rumble of someone's stomach. Both Brenda and Jax blushed, not sure which one of them it had been. Suddenly they both burst out laughing. "I think it's time we got on to more pressing matters, don't you think?" She kissed him quickly on the cheek before pulling out of the embrace and leading him into the dining room.

After enjoying a leisurely dinner together at the fireside table, they decided to spend the rest of the evening relaxing together in their sitting room. Benton had brought their dessert and coffee up and then quietly left them alone. Since it was a warm evening for early June they had opened the terrace doors and were sitting, staring out at the setting sun. When the breeze started to get cool, they closed the doors and snuggled together on the couch. Brenda's favorite music was playing softly on the stereo, as they lay wrapped around each other; Jax gently running his fingers up and down Brenda's back. Neither of them had said anything for a while, when they both noticed the scent of roses in the air. They sat up quickly and looked around the room just in time to see Madeline come from the shadows by the bedroom doors.

"Am I disturbing you?" she asked politely.

"Not at all, Madeline. Please come sit with us." Jax indicated she should have a seat across from them. "We were hoping to talk to you."

"Oh, really, what about?" Madeline sat opposite Jax and Brenda. She smiled when she saw how comfortable they were with each other. She admired the way Jax always touched Brenda. It made her sad, as she thought back to when she and Everett sat in this same room. As much in love as they had been, they never sat just holding each other the way Jax and Brenda did. It just wasn't done in their day!

"We wanted to ask you some questions about Everett, if you don't mind. I'd understand if you feel uncomfortable answering them, but you must realize that the only way we are ever going to find out what is going on here is if we know everything we possibly can about both of you. Do you mind?" Jax waited for Madeline to think over what he had asked of her.

A look of sadness crossed her face before she answered. "I know you need to know everything you can, but it pains me to think that the man that I loved with my heart and soul has become like this. For the life of me, I have no idea why. He wasn't like this when I knew him, Jax. He was very much like you then. Business was important to him, yes, but he always had time for the children and me. At the end… When I was so sick, he let everything slide to spend all of his time with us. That's why I find it so hard to understand the obsessed man who is in this house now. I don't know what changed him!"

Both Jax and Brenda could see the anguish in her eyes. Brenda reached over and touched her hand. "It's okay, Madeline. Really! We'll find another way to get the answers we need. Right, Jax?" Brenda turned back to look at Jax and was surprised by the expression on his face. "Jax? What's wrong?"

Jax was so deep in thought that he didn't answer at first. "What? Oh, sorry! I was just thinking about what Madeline just said. She may have just given us the answer to our questions about Everett!" Jax sat back slowly rubbing his chin. Brenda could see the wheels turning in his head even though he didn't say anything.

"What do you mean, Jax? Do you know something I don't?" Brenda had become very good at reading Jax's expressions, but she wasn't exactly sure what he was thinking now.

Jax sat forward again and looked first at Brenda and then at Madeline. "I haven't had a chance to tell you what Thomas found out from his grandfather today. It seems that the elders feel that Everett's intentions are not exactly 'kindly,' for some reason. They told him that a spirit is tied to this world, at least a spirit like Everett, for one of three reasons: he was the victim of violence, which we know is not the case; he has an unachieved goal - Thomas is going to check into that, but there is none we know of; the last reason is he is a victim of a tragedy. After what Madeline said about his dedication to her and the children at the time of her… at the end, my guess is that he has some unresolved issues about that, so he's overcompensating for it."

Madeline looked up at Jax. For the first time since all the trouble with Everett had started, she had a renewed feeling of hope. If Jax was right, there was still a chance that she could reason with him. She could get him to leave Jax and Brenda alone and find peace for himself.

"Jax, are you sure?" Brenda felt optimistic for the first time in a long time. If Jax was right, there was DEFINITELY a light at the end of this tunnel.

"A lot will depend on what Thomas finds out from London. He's got some friends checking on Everett and the children after they moved there. He's planning to go over himself, as soon as the problems with John and Jerry are resolved."

"Jax, I know if I could just talk to him, we could end this! Has Thomas's grandfather figured out why I can't? There has to be something I can do! I never wanted Everett to suffer like this. I told him that the last time we talked. I told him how much I loved him and that he should go on with his life. I told him he should fall in love again and make a life for himself and the children!" The regret was obvious in Madeline's voice.

This time Jax leaned forward to comfort Madeline. "Not yet. They said they needed more information about him first. Madeline, if this really is the reason for Everett's actions, I have to tell you I can understand." Jax looked over at Brenda and squeezed her hand before continuing, "There was a time when Brenda and I faced a very serious threat to our relationship. She was facing a serious illness, and she wanted me to promise to leave her and find a happy life with someone else. It took all the strength I had in me to convince her that there was no happiness without her!" Jax leaned over and kissed Brenda gently on the cheek, wrapping his arm snuggly around her. She rested her head against his shoulder as of way of giving him comfort and getting comfort from him, as the memory of that time returned to both of them.

"The point I'm trying to make is that if Thomas gets proof that this is the problem when he goes to London, I think we may have just found the path to Everett. I can't promise anything, but it looks promising." Jax smiled a reassuring smile at Madeline. She returned the smile and glanced over at Brenda. Jax glanced down at her as well. When he looked back up, Madeline was gone.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that!" he chuckled. Jax leaned back on the couch, bringing Brenda with him. He kissed her gently on the top of the head. "I don't know about you, Mrs. Jack, but for me it's been a pretty rotten day! What do you say we take a nice, hot bath and just forget about everything?" He turned Brenda's face up to his and placed a passionate kiss on her lips.

When they finally broke the kiss, Brenda reached up to stroke the side of his face. "I think that's a great idea. Come on." She slowly got up from the couch and extended her hand to Jax. He took her hand, got up and wrapped his arm around her. They headed off to the bathroom to relax and forget the memories of that terrible time.

Their leisurely soak in the tub had quickly turned into a night of passionate lovemaking, both in the tub and in their bed. When they were snuggled together afterward, neither of them said anything, but both were still thinking about what Jax had said earlier. Jax slowly ran his fingers across her back, grateful to have her here in his arms. Brenda gently caressed his chest and then wrapped her arm tightly around him, grateful that he had loved her enough to convince her they could survive what the future had to hold for them as long as they were together. He had been right. Not only had she not had the illness, but also she was now carrying their child. A child that she loved as much as she loved its father! A child that would never face the threat of the mental illness she had faced! Thanks to Jax and his love!

She was drifting off to sleep, snuggled close to the center of her world. She felt she was finally able to truly understand what Jax had meant when he had told her how he could not go on without her. Hearing Madeline tonight made her look at the things Jax had told her from his point of view, and she finally understood why he had insisted that he would not leave. Her last thoughts as she drifted off to sleep were of Jax and his love for her. She was soon wrapped in a world of happy dreams of Jax and their baby.