August 5, 1999

Jax and Brenda had not actually seen much of each other lately.  Things for Brenda had been hectic, ever since the night Thomas had come over to talk about Everett.  She was spending long hours at the show house, getting things in place.  Matthew had been right about the quick response of the antique dealers.  Many of the pieces she had selected for the house had already arrived.

She and Matthew had been concentrating on getting Katie's suite ready for her to move in.  They had also focused on getting Brenda's office finished, so they could schedule meetings with prospective new clients.  Because they had used the original designs from the Ashford project, it had not been difficult to locate and purchase the necessary furniture.  As a result of what was happening at Jax and Brenda's home, Matthew had very thorough research done on each piece.  None of the furniture came from the same owner, anywhere in its history, nor had any of it ever been purchased for this house at any time in the past.

Brenda had spent several late nights going over the linen and drapery catalogs to compile her orders for the show house.  On more than one night, Jax had gone into her office and found her asleep at her desk.  He would gently carry her to their bedroom and put her to bed without ever waking her.  When he would try to suggest that she cut back on her long hours, she would burst into tears.  It had taken all of Jax's self-control not to burst out laughing at her emotional response to his suggestion, attributing it to her advancing pregnancy and also to her being overtired.

Things had finally started to slow down the past couple of days.  Matthew had taken charge of the deliveries and installation of the furniture, which left her more time to finish the accessory orders.  The linens and draperies for Katie's suite had arrived and had already been installed.  In fact, she was planning to move in this coming weekend, which would meet the city's residency requirement for the house. 

While Brenda had been busy with the show house, Jax had finally resolved all the problems for his troublesome acquisition.  In fact, things at Jacks International had finally started to stabilize.  There had been no new crisis for almost a week.  This had allowed Jax to catch up on everything that was piled up on his desk.  He was so caught up, in fact, that he had decided to surprise Brenda with an evening of romance and relaxation tonight.  He had spent most of the morning on the phone with Benton, making plans for Brenda's special night.

When Jax got back to his office after lunch, he instructed Allison that he was not to be disturbed, as he would be making a personal phone call.  He then placed a call to Matthew's cell phone.  Jax was starting to get a little concerned when the phone kept ringing.

Matthew finally answered the phone on the fifth ring.  "Hello, Jacks Designs. Matthew speaking." 

"Jax here, Matthew.  Is Brenda anywhere around?" Jax asked.  He was relieved when Matthew answered quickly.

"Not right now, Jax.  She just went upstairs to make a final inspection of Katie's suite.  She's suppose to move in this weekend, and Brenda wants to make sure everything is ready for her.  Do you want me to go get her?"

"NO!!"  Jax startled himself and Matthew with the sound of his shout.  "It's actually you I wanted to talk to.  He then went on to explain what he had planned for Brenda for this evening.  When he finished he asked, "Well, what do you think?"

Matthew smiled, "I think it's a great idea.  She's been working way too hard lately.  She can DEFINITELY use the break.  How can I help?"

Jax had known that Matthew would help.  Over the time that Brenda and Matthew had been working together, Jax had come to realize that Matthew was very protective of Brenda.  He had proven that many times recently by his willingness to take on extra work in order to give Brenda a chance to rest during the day.  "Well, actually I was thinking of kidnapping her this afternoon.  Do you think you can spare her?"

Matthew chuckled,  "Oh, I think we can struggle along without her.  What time will you be coming by?"

Jax glanced at his watch and then at his planner.  "I should be there around 3:00.  Can you arrange for her to be 'busy' around that time?  I don't want her to know I'm coming."

Matthew looked at his watch.  "I think that can be arranged.  I'll make sure she's working alone in the office around that time.  That way you two won't be disturbed."  Matthew chuckled.  He got some final details from Jax before he hung up the phone.  He always loved it when Jax planned these little surprises for Brenda.  The look on her face was always more than enough to make up for any extra work he might have to do.  He had come to think of Jax and Brenda as his family, so he was always willing to participate in one of these surprises.  Now all he had to do was figure out a way to get Brenda into the office at 3:00, like he promised Jax.  Lately, she'd been running around the house like a chicken with its head cut off. 

3:00 P.M.

As promised, Jax pulled up in front of the show house at exactly 3:00.  He had asked Benton to arrange a limo for them, since he wanted to devote his attention to Brenda and not to driving.  Jax didn't wait for the driver to open his door; he quickly jumped out of the car and bounded up the front steps of the house.  As planned, Matthew had left the front door unlocked for him.  As he came into the foyer, he looked up and saw Katie coming down the stairs.  When she started to say hello, he held a finger up to his lips to let her know not to say anything.  Since Matthew had let her in on Jax's plans for Brenda this afternoon, she simply nodded her head and pointed toward the closed office door.  She then waved good bye and turned and went back upstairs to find Matthew and let him know that Brenda was leaving.

After Katie was gone, Jax walked quietly to the office doors.  He slowly slid them open and looked in.  He was surprised to find Brenda with her head down on her desk, obviously asleep.  He stood in the open doorway for several moments before quietly walking over to her desk.  He bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, but she never even stirred.  He kissed her a couple more times but she never really woke up.  Jax decided to go to plan B, instead of trying to wake her.  He gently eased her chair back from the desk and lifted her out of the chair.  She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled her face close to him, still not waking up.  He carried her out of the office and toward the front door.  Matthew was coming out of the parlor, when he saw Jax and quickly walked over to open the door for him.  Jax carried her out the door, down the stairs, and toward the waiting limo.  When the driver saw him coming with Brenda in his arms, he jumped out of the car and opened the back door for him.

Jax easily got into the back seat with Brenda still in his arms, and kept her in his lap as the driver quietly closed the door.  Brenda finally started to stir when she felt the car moving.  She raised her head from his shoulder and sleepily looked around, not recognizing where she was at first.  She eventually directed her gaze back to Jax and suddenly woke completely.

"Jax?" was all she said as she started looking around to try to figure out where she was.  "What's going on?  What are we doing in the car?  Why aren't you at work?"  She tried to slide off of his lap, but he tightened his arms around her to prevent her moving.

"Yes, it's me," Jax said with a laugh.  "To answer your questions, what's going on is that you are being kidnapped, Mrs. Jacks!  We're in the car on our way to nowhere!  As to why I'm not at work, that's the easiest to answer: I finished everything on my desk and refused to start anything new until tomorrow, so I could spend the rest of the day with my 'family'!"  Jax lowered his hand to caress the child Brenda carried.  "You and I have both been so busy lately that we haven't had any time for this little one here!"  As if the baby knew what Jax was saying, both Brenda and Jax could feel the child moving in response to dad's touch.  "So I called Matthew and arranged for you to have a free schedule for the rest of the afternoon, and I also called Benton and arranged the remainder of our evening."  Jax raised his hand from her abdomen to caress the side of her face.  "Are there any complaints?" he asked with a smile and a sultry look deep into her eyes.

Brenda had wrapped her arms more snuggly around his neck as he had been talking.  She brought her hand up to caress the side of his face.  "No complaints at all!"  She leaned forward and kissed him passionately on the mouth.  When she finally pulled back from the kiss, she looked at him with what Jax loved to call her 'I've got you' look.  Jax reached up and pulled her face back down to his for another passionate kiss.  Brenda eventually pulled back again to allow them both to take a breath.  She slowly slid down next to him in the seat and snuggled herself close.  "So what's on the docket for this kidnapping?"

Jax gently slid his hand up and down her arm, as he placed his cheek against the top of her head.  "Actually that's the beauty of this kidnapping.  There is no plan!  I thought we'd just drive along the riverfront for a while and maybe stop and walk in the park for a while, before going home.  What do you think?"  He stopped rubbing her arm to wait for her response.

Without removing her head from his shoulder, Brenda looked up at Jax.  "Sounds perfect!"  She reached up and pulled his face down to hers for a kiss.  "I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon."  Brenda wrapped her arm around Jax's ribs and snuggled deeper in his embrace.  They spent the next hour just driving around Port Charles with no specific destination in mind. 

Eventually they ended up in the park across from General Hospital.  After giving the driver instructions to wait for them, Jax helped Brenda out of the car.  With their arms wrapped around each other, they walked aimlessly along the paths for a while, finally settling onto one of the benches.  Jax wrapped his arm around Brenda's shoulders, and she snuggled her head against his shoulder.  They sat for a long time, silently watching a young child play with his mother on the grass in front of them.

Finally Brenda sat up and looked at Jax.  "Honey, do you realize that next summer we'll be doing the same thing with our child?"  She was surprised to see tears in Jax's eyes.  "Jax, is something wrong?"  She reached up and caressed the side of his face.

Jax put his hand up on top of hers to still its motion.  He smiled at her before he spoke.  "No, nothing's wrong.  I was just thinking the same thing.  I was picturing you sitting on the grass in our backyard playing with our child when I came home from work.  I can't imagine a more beautiful sight than that!"  Jax leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.  He glanced at his watch.  "What do you say we head back to the house?  I asked Benton to have an early dinner ready for us."  Brenda nodded her agreement and kissed him quickly on the cheek.  Jax got up and extended his hands to her to help her get up. With their arms wrapped around each other again, they walked slowly back to the waiting limo, stopping occasionally to exchange a kiss or two.

It was about 5:45 when the limo pulled up in front of their house.  Jax again got out first and helped Brenda from the car.  With her advancing pregnancy, there had been many changes in their lifestyle.  One of the major ones had been that Brenda had finally agreed to allow Jax to help her into and out of cars and chairs.  With the increasing size of the baby, it was becoming more and more difficult for her to do alone.  In fact, when she was tired, she looked forward to his offers of assistance.  This afternoon was no exception.  She eagerly reached for his outstretched hands to help her from the car.  Once they were safely out of the car and the door closed, Jax dismissed the car.  It drove away as they walked up the front stairs, once again wrapped around each other.

Benton was waiting for them when they walked into the foyer.  He took both Brenda and Jax's briefcases without even saying a word.  He placed them both on the table.  "Good evening, you two.  Everything is ready as you requested, Jax.  Mrs. Kelly has already left for the evening, and I'll be in my rooms if you need anything else."  He nodded to them and turned to leave.  He turned back quickly, as if something had just occurred to him.  "Don't worry about anything when you're done.  I'll take care of everything in the morning."  He winked at them before continuing, "Enjoy your evening, BOTH of you!"  He then turned and left them standing alone. 

Jax couldn't keep from smiling when he saw the totally confused expression on Brenda's face.  "What's wrong, luv?"

Brenda had been staring in the direction Benton had gone.  She turned back to look at Jax.  "What was all that about?" she asked.  When she saw the mischievous twinkle in Jax's eyes, she planted her feet on the floor and put her hands firmly on her hips.  "Jasper Jacks, what are you up to?" she asked with a look of consternation.

Jax simply smiled at her and extended his hand.  "Why don't you come with me and find out?"  Brenda took his outstretched hand and followed him up the stairs to their suite.  They stopped in the hallway outside the closed doors.  Jax turned to her with a smile.  "Close your eyes" was all he said.  Brenda nervously closed her eyes.  She had no idea what Jax had planned, but knowing him the way she did, she knew she would enjoy it.  Once he was sure her eyes were closed, Jax slowly opened the doors.  "Okay, you can open them now."  He took hold of her hand again and led her into the sitting area. 

Brenda was stunned by what she saw.  The entire room had been filled with her favorite flowers.  The draperies had been pulled shut to darken the room, and it was lighted by dozens of white candles.  She let go of Jax's hand and walked slowly into the room, looking at everything around her.  Jax followed her into the room and quietly closed the doors.  Brenda walked over to the table by the window and saw their dinner set up and waiting.  She looked back at Jax with tears in her eyes.  "When did you have time to set all of this up?"

Jax came up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.  He looked down at her with a soft smile on his face.  "So, do you like it?"  He lifted his hand and gently caressed the side of her face.

Brenda reached up and held his cheek in her hand.  Jax turned his face and placed a kiss on her palm.  "I love it, Jax.  Thank you."  Brenda reached up and pulled Jax's face down for a kiss - a kiss that was a definite sign of where the evening was going.  Brenda pulled back from the kiss, when the baby suddenly kicked both of them.  They looked at each other and both burst out laughing.  "I guess someone is getting hungry! 

Jax pulled the chair out for Brenda to sit down.  He leaned down and placed a kiss on the side of her neck, before coming around to his side of the table.  They both enjoyed their meal and took their time eating, exchanging sultry looks frequently during the meal.  Brenda finally leaned back in her chair and placed her napkin on the table.  "That was fantastic!"

Jax looked over at her with 'that' twinkle in his eyes that she loved so much.  "Well, if you think THAT was fantastic, wait until you see what I have planned for dessert!"  With that, Jax got up and again extended his hand to her.

Brenda eagerly gave him her hand and got up from her chair.  They went around the room, blowing out the candles, and finally came to a stop outside their bedroom door.  She squeezed his hand and looked up into his eyes.  "Do I have to close my eyes again?" she asked.

Jax simply smiled at her and shook his head.  "No, that won't be necessary."  He slowly opened the doors and led her into the room.  Brenda looked around and didn't see anything special about the room.  She tried desperately to keep her disappointment off her face, but Jax could tell.  He didn't say anything; he just walked over to the bathroom door and opened it.  "Why don't you take a nice, hot shower?  I'll wait for you right here." He said with a wink as he pushed her toward the bathroom door.  Once she was inside, he closed the door and waited until he heard the water in the shower turn on.  When he heard the water, he quickly got everything ready and then grabbed his robe from the foot of the bed and headed to one of the guestrooms to shower, as well.

By the time Brenda came out, the room had been totally transformed.  There were candles on both night tables and the drapes were open so that the moonlight could shine in.  There was soft music playing, and setting right in the middle of the bed was a silver tray with a covered dish.  On Jax's night table there was a bottle of what Brenda guessed was her favorite sparkling cider and two glasses.  The only thing missing was Jax.  She slowly looked around the room and finally saw him coming through the door from the sitting room, dressed in his blue silk robe, her favorite.  "I was wondering where you were..." Brenda smiled at Jax, as he came over to her and wrapped his arms around her. 

They stood kissing for several minutes before finally moving to the bed.  Jax helped Brenda get comfortable on the bed and handed her a glass of cider, before getting into bed himself.  "A toast to you, my beautiful wife."  Jax clinked his glass with hers, and they both took a sip of the cider.  When Jax went to take a second sip, Brenda reached up and stopped him.

"It's my turn."  She leaned her glass against his and cupped the side of his face with her free hand.  "To my wonderful husband, thank you for tonight and every tonight of our lives."  Brenda clinked her glass with his, and they again each took a sip.  Brenda leaned over and kissed Jax with what could only be described as a hunger. 

They continued kissing for several minutes, until Jax finally pulled back to try to catch his breath.  "Wow, if you keep that up we won't get around to dessert!"  Jax drank down the rest of his cider and reached for Brenda's glass. 

She willingly gave him the glass and reached for the tray that was sitting between them on the bed.  "Who needs dessert?  I've got a much better idea!"  She took the tray and put it on the table, and then turned her attentions back to Jax.  She began kissing him, first on the mouth, and then across his cheek to the side of his neck, pushing him back onto the pillows behind them.  She slowly kissed her way down to his chest, which she slowly revealed by spreading open his robe.  She was pleased to find that he was not wearing anything under the robe, so it was no time at all before she had untied the belt and was able to caress his entire body.  She sat back for a moment to look at the beautiful man who was her husband.  She gently ran her hand across his chest as she admired him. 

When he could not stand it any longer, Jax reached up and pulled her down next to him.  He began doing to her what she had just done to him.  He was also delighted to discover that she was not wearing anything under her robe.  When his kisses reached her abdomen and the child growing there, he gently kissed it, and Brenda heard him whisper to the baby, "Hello, little one.  This is your daddy, and I have a big favor to ask of you.  Your mom and I want to have some grownup time right now, so would you mind going to sleep for a while?  In fact, it might be a good idea if you went to sleep for the whole night!"  Jax looked up at Brenda and winked.  He then bent down and placed another kiss on Brenda's abdomen.

Brenda reached for him and pulled him up next to her.  She held both sides of his face in her hands and drew his face to hers, kissing him passionately.  It wasn't long before Jax had made them one, and they were making love with as much intensity as possible.  To accommodate the drastic change in Brenda's figure and to protect the baby she was carrying, they had found several different ways of giving and receiving love.  During this night, they had used every one of them - and created a few new ones.  Eventually they fell asleep spooned together, with Jax wrapped snuggly behind Brenda, his left hand gently caressing her distended abdomen as they drifted off to sleep.

The next several days flew by quickly.  After their night of passion, Jax and Brenda both promised to make time every day for just them, knowing that once the baby arrived, there would be very little 'us' time available.

Brenda's next appointment with Dr. Meadows was on August 12.  Everything checked out perfectly.  They had seen how much the baby had developed on the ultrasound, but had declined Dr. Meadows's offer to let them know the sex of the child.  They both told her they wanted to be surprised when it was born.  Dr. Meadows again changed Brenda's vitamins, and after a series of questions and her examination of Brenda, she had recommended that they restrict their physical intimacy.  She was very specific that she was not asking them to discontinue it, just to be more careful.  She assured them there was no problem, but that with Brenda now entering her final trimester, things with the baby would be developing rapidly.  She told Brenda to schedule her next appointment for a month from now, but that from that point on her appointments would be every two weeks, and then once she entered her ninth month, she would be coming in every week.

As they had after each visit, Jax and Brenda had gone out to lunch after her appointment.  This time though, having taken the balance of the day off, Jax went back to the house with her.  After a leisurely dinner on the terrace and a quiet evening together, Jax and Brenda had headed up to bed about 11:00. Brenda had fallen asleep almost immediately, but Jax had remained awake for a while, reading.  Around midnight, Jax noticed Brenda began tossing and turning, obviously having a dream.  It didn't take long for him to realize that it was a dream that was quickly turning into a nightmare.  When she screamed out his name, he pulled her into his arms and gently shook her.  "Brenda?  Wake up sweetheart, you're having a dream."  He shook her again, but she didn't awaken.  She continued to call out his name, and he soon saw tears streaming down her face.  This scared him.  He shook her harder.  "Brenda!  Wake up!"  Finally she woke up and looked up into his eyes.

When she saw him, she threw her arms around his neck and began to sob.  "Jax!  Thank God you're okay!"  She continued to hold him tightly, seeming to be afraid to let him go.

Jax finally pulled her arms from around his neck and pulled her back from him so he could look into her face.  "Tell me what you were dreaming," he demanded.

"It was awful, Jax!  You were talking to Everett in the library, and you told him to leave us alone!  You told him that his way of doing business and leading his life was not your way, and he just had to get used to your way of doing things!"  She looked at him as the tears started again.  "He was so angry, Jax!  He was coming at you, and I knew he was going to do something awful!!  Before he could though, you woke me up!"  Jax pulled her into his arms again to try to calm her down.  She pulled back from him and looked into his eyes.  "Jax, please!  Don't do anything to provoke him!  Promise me!"  She looked up at him with a look of absolute terror in her eyes.

Jax leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.  "I promise you, Brenda, that I won't do anything to provoke Everett."  Jax wiped the tears from Brenda's face and once again pulled her close.  He turned off the bedside light and snuggled down with her.  Eventually she drifted off to sleep again, a sleep that did not seem to be troubled by dreams.

Once he was sure Brenda was sleeping soundly, Jax reached for the phone next to the bed.  He quickly dialed Thomas's number and waited for him to pick up.  When he heard Thomas's voice, Jax spoke quickly and quietly, "Sorry to wake you, mate.  I need you to meet me in my office first thing in the morning."

When Thomas realized who was on the phone, he was quick to respond, "Sure thing, Jax.  What's wrong?"

Jax pulled the cover up around Brenda as she snuggled closer to him.  He tightened his arm around her before he answered,  "It's time to put an end to Everett!"  He paused for a moment before he continued,  "I don't want Brenda to know what we're doing, Thomas!  Promise me!'

Thomas could tell by the tone of Jax's voice that something had happened.  "Sure... what's wrong, Jax?"

"Brenda had a really bad nightmare about him tonight, and I don't want a repeat!  She's too far into her pregnancy to get this upset!  I'll see you in the office!"  He was about to hang up the phone when he thought of something else.  "Thomas?  Thanks, mate."

Thomas could tell how worried Jax was about Brenda, and he decided to try to reassure his friend.  "No thanks necessary, mate.  I'll do whatever is necessary to put an end to this!  See you later."  He heard the click as Jax hung up the phone.  He sat holding the phone in his hand for several moments before hanging it up.  When he had a sudden idea he picked up the phone again and called his grandfather.  He needed to run his idea past his grandfather before he suggested it to Jax.

After talking to Thomas, Jax settled back down in the bed and wrapped both of his arms protectively around Brenda.  Eventually he fell asleep holding her.

Madeline had witnessed Brenda's nightmare and Jax's concern.  She stood at the foot of the bed, watching them finally able to sleep.  She felt the tears start down her cheeks as she realized that her Everett was causing all of this.  She made herself a promise to talk to Brenda in the morning to try to reassure her that nothing would happen to Jax because of Everett.  She also intended to do whatever she had to do to help Jax to draw Everett out.  She was still sure that she could convince him to leave them alone if she could talk to him.  If not, she would do whatever was necessary to rid the house of him, once and for all!  No one was ever going to upset Brenda again the way her fear of Everett had tonight, Madeline vowed.