September 22, 1999

6:45 P.M.

Jax and Brenda had finished their dinner and just settled in the parlor to have their coffee when Benton came in. "Excuse me, Jax. Your mother is on the phone. She said she is returning your call from this afternoon." As Benton handed Jax the cordless phone, he noticed the strange look that Jax and Brenda exchanged. He got the very distinct feeling that something was about to happen – something that was either going to be a huge success or a horrible failure!

"Thanks, Benton," Jax said as he took the phone. He waited until Benton was out of the room to take the call. He took a long, slow breath before putting the phone to his ear. "Hello, mum. How are you?"

"Just fine, dear. How about you and Brenda? Everything going okay with the baby?" Jane had immediately noticed something in the tone of Jax's voice that had set her 'mother senses' in gear. She wasn't sure what it was, but she had the very distinct feeling that something was going on - something that had Jax concerned.

"We're all fine, mum. The baby is doing great. Brenda is sure it's going to weigh ten pounds by the time it's born though!" Brenda reached over and took a playful swat at him for that last comment. "Ouch!" he yelled as he tried to elude her swing and ended up hitting his elbow on the table next to the couch, nearly dropping the phone in the process.

"Are you okay, Jax?" his mother asked, pretty sure of what had been happening on the other end of the phone.

"I'm fine, mum," Jax said with a chuckle. "I was just trying to avoid getting beaten by my wife!" Jax laughed out loud as he again had to duck Brenda's swing, this time successfully. "We were just wondering if you were free to have lunch with us tomorrow?"

"I'd love to, son." There was that strange tone in his voice again. "Just tell me where and when." Jane said, delighted at the invitation. With Jax's work schedule and his promise to spend private time with Brenda, she had not seen either of them in a couple of weeks. She found herself eagerly looking forward to tomorrow.

Jax reached for Brenda's hand. "Would you mind meeting us at my office?" Jax winked at Brenda. "I have a pretty busy day tomorrow so it would be a lot easier if we could meet there. I'll have Allison arrange for lunch to be brought in from the dining room. Okay?"

"Sure, I don't mind that at all. Just tell me what time, and I'll be there." Jane said, more certain than ever that something was up. There was definitely more to this lunch than just catching up with each other.

Jax glanced over at Brenda and silently asked for a time. When he saw her just shrug and put up her hands he couldn't help smiling. "How does 12:30 sound to you? I'll have someone pick you up and bring you down." As almost an afterthought he asked, "Will you have any problem getting away on such short notice?"

Jane knew immediately what he was referring to. "Not at all. I planned to be home alone most of the day tomorrow, so 12:30 will be fine. I'll be ready when the car gets here." Without having to be told, Jane knew the reason Jax was sending a car for her. Ever since John and Jerry had tried to raid Jax's company, Travis had instituted new, stricter security measures at the corporate offices, which made it very difficult to gain access to the upper floors. "I'll see you two tomorrow," she said. "Give Brenda and the little one a kiss for me. Good-bye, luv."

"Good night, mum. See you tomorrow," Jax said, as he hit the ‘end’ button on the phone. Before saying anything else he leaned over and first kissed Brenda and then leaned down and placed a kiss on the baby she carried. When he sat back up he put his hand on her abdomen. "That's from your grandmother, little one." He looked up at Brenda with a smile. "Yours was, too."

Brenda returned his smile. "I figured that." She quickly grew serious. "How much do you think we should tell her, Jax? Do you really think she'll believe us if we tell her about Madeline and Everett?" She tried to hide the growing fear she felt about telling Jane everything, but she knew Jax had picked up on it by the concerned expression on his face.

He sat silently, gently caressing her abdomen as he thought. "Considering what we are asking her to do, I think we owe her the entire story. I'm sure that between Thomas and us we can convince her that it's all true and that we're not all nuts!" Jax stopped moving his hand and slowly looked into her eyes. "I think we have to tell her the whole story, luv. Remember we're asking her to trick her husband and son into coming over here so we can use them to get rid of Everett! Put yourself in her place. How would you feel if you did what we're asking and then afterwards found out it had all been a setup?"

She had to admit Jax was right. It was only fair that Jane know everything before agreeing to help. "You're right. I guess I'm just afraid she's going to think we're nuts." She smiled meekly at him. Jax held his arms out to her and she quickly moved over so she could snuggle up to him. Once she was comfortable she began to run her hand slowly across his chest. After several minutes of silence, she finally looked up at him. "Maybe we should have lunch here instead of your office. If we're here, Madeline could help us if we need any help convincing her."

Jax gently stroked her hair as he answered her, "I thought about that but decided it wasn't a good idea." He could see the uncertainty in her eyes. "Considering what we are planning, I don't want to take any chance that Everett might suspect any part of what we are planning before we're ready." He could see that Brenda understood the logic of what he was saying. "Besides, if she doesn't believe us, Thomas will be there to back us up. If he tells her what he's seen, she's likely to believe him."

"That's true. He is the most level-headed man I've met in a long time," she said with a laugh, as she pulled away and started to tickle him. Jax laughed as he started a return tickle attack. They kept on like this until they both felt the baby start to kick. "Oh oh! Now you've done it!" Brenda said with a sigh.

Jax pulled back immediately, a look of concern having quickly replaced his laughter. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

When Brenda saw the concern on his face, she smiled at him. "We're fine! Nothing's wrong, honey - HONEST! I just meant you woke the baby – that's all!" She reached over and placed his hand on her abdomen so he could feel the active child growing inside. She could see the concern on his face quickly being replaced with a smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you!" she said as she gently stroked the side of his face. "I do appreciate your concern for us though," she said as she leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. Just then the baby kicked again. "So does the baby," she said with a soft chuckle.

Jax wrapped his arms around her again and drew her close to him. He could still feel the baby moving against him. "You are both very welcome! Now, let’s forget about all of this and just relax and enjoy the rest of this evening. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a rough day." They settled back on the sofa together to listen to the music that was playing softly on the stereo. It wasn't long before the baby settled down so Jax and Brenda could enjoy the rest of their evening together.

Neither one of them said much for the rest of the evening. In fact, it wasn't until Jax felt Brenda try to stretch out and saw her yawn that he finally said anything. Looking at his watch before tilting his head to look around at Brenda he said, "Hey, you, it's almost midnight! What do you say we call it a night? Hmm?"

Brenda stirred a little, obviously on the verge of sleep. "Okay…" she said but didn't make the slightest effort to move. Finally, when she felt Jax gently tapping on the top of her head, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. When she saw his slight smile and the twinkle in his eyes, she couldn't help smiling herself. "Okay, okay. I get the message. Let's go." She yawned again before slowly unwrapping herself from him and swinging her legs around to set her feet on the floor. Jax took the opportunity to quickly get up and extend his hands to help her up.

The closer she was getting to the baby's due date, the more difficult it was becoming to get onto and off of chairs and sofas. As she reached for Jax's outstretched hands, she couldn’t resist the urge to smile at him when he pulled her to her feet. She knew he had to pull harder each time as the days went on. She had long ago realized how lucky she was to have a husband like Jax. She could not imagine many men being as understanding, not to mention helpful, as their wife's pregnancy advanced as Jax had been.

As soon as she was on her feet she wrapped her arm around his waist and snuggled her head against his chest. "Let's go," she said with a long sigh as she looked up at him. She instinctively snuggled closer as she felt his arm wrap tightly around her shoulders and saw the smile on his lips. They slowly walked out of the parlor, Jax turning off the lights before they headed into the foyer and up the stairs. It wasn't long before they were snuggled together in bed. Brenda quickly fell sound asleep and Jax felt himself dozing off.

Once she was sure they were both asleep, Madeline came out of the shadows and stood by the side of the bed, watching them sleep. As she stood there she said to no one in particular, "This is going to work. I know it is. As soon as we are able to get Everett to realize what he is doing is wrong, I'm sure he'll leave you alone to live your lives as you see fit." A sadness came into her voice as she continued, "If he won't, I swear to you both that I will remove him from this house and your lives forever - whatever it takes!" She reached down and pulled the covers a little higher on the loving family sleeping in front of her, before fading back into the shadows.

September 23, 1999

11:15 A.M.

Jax's secretary Allison looked up when she heard the bing of the executive elevator. She had to smile when she saw Thomas and Brenda step off. It had been several weeks since she had seen Brenda, and she was startled to see how large the baby had gotten. It looked to her like the baby was ready to be born tomorrow, not seven weeks from now!

"Good morning, Mrs. Jacks. It's great to see you again. How are you two feeling these days?” Allison asked, as Brenda and Thomas approached her desk. "Mr. Jacks is waiting for you, so you and Mr. Abenela can go right in."

"Thanks, Allison. To answer your question, we're both doing fine." Brenda gently ran her hand over her abdomen. "This little one is a very active baby, I have to tell you. He'll probably take after his father when it comes to sports!" she said with a chuckle. When she felt Thomas's hand on her back, she started toward the door to Jax's office. "We'll talk more later, I promise."

Thomas knocked softly. They waited for Jax to answer. "Come in," he called. Thomas opened the door and Brenda walked in, with Thomas following close behind. When Jax saw them walk in, he got up from behind his desk and walked over to give Brenda a kiss and a hug. "Hello, luv, how are you doing?" He looked down at her as he waited for her answer.

"I'm okay – a little nervous, but okay. Thomas has been great about keeping me calm this morning. Thanks for asking him to come keep me company until it was time to come down." Brenda looked over at Thomas and smiled as she gently rubbed his arm.

"Actually, it was his idea. He thought you might feel better having some company to keep your mind off things for a while." Jax looked over at Thomas as well. "Thanks, mate. I owe you."

Thomas smiled, blushing slightly at all of the attention. "No, you don't, mate. I was glad to do it. Besides, I like spending time with your wife when you're not around!" Thomas quickly backed away from the swings that both Jax and Brenda took at him, as all three of them started to laugh. He quickly got serious though. "I guess we should get down to business. After all, we are here to figure out how to explain all of this to your mum." He looked at both Jax and Brenda, who nodded their agreement.

The three of them went over and sat in the lounge area of Jax’s office, Brenda and Jax on the couch and Thomas in the chair across from them. They spent the next hour planning what and how they would explain about Madeline and Everett to Jane. Once they had that figured out, they tried to figure out a way of asking for her help without alienating her. This proved much more difficult than telling her about the ghosts! It was almost 12:30 by the time they had figured out a way that they all agreed would be the least painful for Jane.

12:45 P.M.

After knocking softly, Allison opened the door to Jax's office. "Your mother is here, Mr. Jacks." She stepped aside to let Jane in and then gently closed the door behind her. She went back to her desk and picked up her phone to notify the switchboard to direct all of Mr. Jacks’ calls to her phone until further notice. She had no idea what was going on in her boss's office, but whatever it was, it must be important to have brought both Mrs. Jackses in for a closed-door meeting.

Jax had gotten up as soon as he had seen the door open and come over to greet his mother. "Hello, mum, it's great to see you." He enveloped his mother in a large hug before turning to lead her over to where Thomas and Brenda were waiting.

Thomas had stood up at the same time as Jax, so when Jane came over to them he leaned over slightly and kissed her on the cheek. "Hello, Lady Jane, how are you?"

Jane smiled up at Thomas. "I'm very well, thank you, Thomas. I don't have to ask how you’re doing. You look great. I take it my son here is not working you too hard?" She glanced over at Jax and back to Thomas with the same mischievous twinkle in her eyes that Jax got when he was being sarcastic.

As Thomas started to answer he glanced up to see Jax mouth something to him that caused him to smile. "Of course not, Lady Jane! I'm leading the life of leisure around here, don't you know?" He quickly backed away, dodging a playful swat from Jax. "Hey! You're not allowed to hit your employees!"

Leaving the two men to continue their horsing around, Jane turned her attention to Brenda, who was still sitting on the couch. When she saw her trying to get up, Jane walked quickly over to her. "Don't get up, dear! I'm sure you're comfortable where you are." She sat next to Brenda, wrapping her in a warm hug. She gently rubbed her hand across Brenda's abdomen. "How are you feeling? How's my grandchild? Behaving himself?"

Brenda had chuckled at Jane's remark about her getting up, but she had to admit she wasn't sure she could have made it up without help. "Hello, mom. I'm feeling great. I have to tell you though this little one has been pretty active the last few days. Sometimes I feel like I'm being punched, sometimes I'm sure it's a kick, and yet others I'm positive it's both!" Brenda could not help laughing as she described the baby's activities, especially when she saw that the smile that had come to her mother-in-law's face was quickly replaced by a look of sadness. Brenda knew immediately what Jane was thinking. She was thinking of everything that John was missing being a part of because of his own stupid actions. She could see Jane force those thoughts from her mind.

"Sounds a lot like his father when I was carrying him," Jane said, as she looked lovingly at Jax. "I was convinced that he was either going to be a prize fighter or a soccer champion when he grew up!"

Jax and Thomas had come back over to sit with the two women. "I wasn't that bad, mum!" Jax said with a smile as he sat down next to his mother.

Jane turned and looked at her younger son with a smile. "How would you know? You were doing the kicking, not the receiving!" This remark made everyone laugh. They spent the next fifteen minutes in pleasant, light conversation. It wasn't until they heard a soft knock at the door that things got quiet.

"Come in," Jax called out. When the door opened, they saw that it was Allison, followed by one of the waiters from the executive dining room. He was pushing a cart containing their lunch. Jax got up and walked over toward the door. "Hello, Jeffrey. How are you?" He extended his hand to the waiter, who took it in a friendly shake.

"Very well, Mr. Jacks. Thank you for asking. Where would you like me to set up?" Jeffrey had been with Jacks International since the company had opened the executive dining room. He had quickly developed a very good relationship with most of the upper level executives, especially Mr. Jacks.

Looking around quickly, Jax pointed to the small, round conference table near the window. "Probably on that table. It'll be easier for my wife. Okay, luv?" he looked over at Brenda with a smile.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Brenda looked over at Jeffrey with a smile. "Hello, Jeffrey. It's nice to see you again."

Jeffrey tipped his head slightly to Brenda as he was walking past and stopped. "Hello, Mrs. Jacks. I'm glad to see you looking so well. I hope all is well with the little one."

"Everything is going just fine, thank you for asking," Brenda replied. As she was talking she had been trying to get off the couch without much success. "Jaaax!!" she called in frustration, which caused everyone else in the room to laugh out loud.

Jax came over and extended his hands to help her up from the couch, as Jeffrey started setting up their lunch on the table. He finished quickly and excused himself, quietly closing the door behind him.

Once they were all settled at the table, Jane was the first one to speak. "Okay, what's up? I know there's more to this lunch than just talking about what's been happening in our lives." Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the guilty expressions on all three of their faces. "I knew something was wrong! Is one of you going to tell me what it is?" Jane looked from Jax to Brenda to Thomas and then back to Jax again, as she waited for an answer.

“It’s not that something is wrong – exactly – it’s more like…” Jax seemed to be having a hard time telling his mother what was happening. He looked at Brenda and when he saw her soft smile he knew he could do this. “Okay, here goes: I have a story to tell you, and I don’t want you to say anything until I finish. Okay?” He looked directly at his mother for her answer.

“Of course, son, what is it?” Jane wasn’t sure if she should be concerned or amused by Jax’s reluctance. Obviously he was not sure how she would react to whatever it was he wanted to tell her. She decided the best thing to do was let him tell the entire story and then make a decision. Jane reached over and put her hand on his. “Go ahead, Jax. I’ll listen to whatever you have to tell me.” She smiled a reassuring smile at Jax to let him know she meant what she had said.

For the next hour Jax, Brenda and Thomas took turns telling the story of Stanhope Manor. They told her the history of the house and its builders, their encounters with Madeline Stanhope. They even told her about Jerry’s encounter with Madeline in the hallway. They ended the story with Jax's encounters with Everett Stanhope. They had purposely not gone into great detail about their encounters, hoping to avoid frightening Jane or leading her to think that they were all crazy. Jane had not said one word during the entire story. She had sat quietly eating her lunch, occasionally nodding her head but saying nothing. Finally when Jax finished the story she slowly put down her fork, folded her napkin and put it on the table. Jane looked at each of them before finally focusing her attention on Jax. "Why have you waited until now to tell me all of this?" she asked.

Jax and Brenda looked at each other, which allowed Thomas to speak up to answer her question, as Jane focused her attention on him. "To tell you the truth, Jane, none of us ever thought about telling anyone. Jax and Brenda are so happy in the house and have such a comfortable relationship with the ghost of Madeline Stanhope that it never occurred to us to tell anyone about her. She never intrudes on their lives and has been very supportive and protective of them both. It wasn't until Everett started acting up that any of us became concerned."

"Okay, I can understand that." She looked at the trio again. "What I don’t understand is why you are telling me now? If things are okay at the house what made you decide to talk about this now?"

Jax fidgeted in his chair. "Before we get into that, why don't I have Jeffrey get these things out of here so we can talk without interruption?" Jax reached over and picked up the phone on the credenza. A couple minutes later there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Jax called. Jeffery came in, pushing the cart he had brought their lunch on. "Hello, Jeffrey. Would you mind taking the dishes back to the dining room? Let everyone know that we thoroughly enjoyed the meal."

Jeffery immediately began collecting the dirty dishes. "Of course, Mr. Jacks." When he was finished, he set a fresh pot of coffee on the table. "I thought you might need this." He looked over at Brenda and smiled, "It's decaf, of course." The way he had said that had caused everyone to smile, and Brenda to blush slightly at being the center of attention.

"Thanks, Jeffery, I think we may need it." Jax reached over and poured himself another cup, offering more to the others. Only Thomas accepted a refill. Brenda and Jane simply refilled their water glasses.

Once Jeffrey had closed the door behind himself, the discussion resumed. Jane looked over at her son. “Okay, we’re alone again. Are you going to answer my question? If everything is okay at the house, why are you telling me this story now?”

Thomas suddenly realized that Jane was not questioning the story. She was not challenging the existence of the ghosts of Madeline and Everett. She seemed to accept that part without a problem. What she was questioning, however, was why she had been kept in the dark! Before Thomas had a chance to say anything, Jax began to answer his mother’s questions.

Jax took a deep breath and reached for Brenda’s hand. “Things are not okay at the house, mum.” He felt Brenda squeeze his hand. “Remember when I fell down the stairs?” He looked over at his mother for her reaction. He saw her shudder slightly as she nodded her head. “Well, it wasn’t until after I had recovered from my injuries that we found out that it wasn’t an accident!”

Jane was startled by what he had said. “What do you mean, it wasn’t an accident? Are you saying that someone PUSHED you down the stairs? WHO?” She looked first at Jax, then Brenda and finally Thomas with a look of fear in her eyes.

Brenda removed her hand from Jax’s and reached over to hold Jane’s with both of her own. “We found out from Madeline that it was Everett Stanhope who pushed Jax.” When she saw the panic in Jane’s eyes, she quickly continued, “He wasn’t trying to hurt Jax, mom – really! He actually had another target in mind. He was trying to hurt me,” she said very quietly.

Jane was stunned by what her daughter-in-law had just said. She didn't know what to say. Everything they had told her had seemed so unbelievable but this was too much! "What do you mean, he was trying to hurt you? Why would anyone want to hurt you? Especially a ghost?"

Brenda could see how confused Jane was. She tried to give her a reassuring smile before continuing, "We found out from Madeline after the accident that Everett thought Jax was not spending enough time on his work. He felt that Jax was wasting too much time with me and fussing about the baby. Apparently what he planned was that he would shove me on the steps when I was coming down with Jax, figuring that Jax would catch me before I was seriously hurt. According to Madeline, he figured that the scare of my falling would be enough for Jax to let you guys back into our lives." She could see that Jane was beginning to understand. She could also see the one thing that she had feared most about telling her the entire story come into Jane's eyes. Brenda squeezed her hand. "That is NOT why we decided to try again with you, mom! HONEST!! We had decided that the baby had a right to know at least some part of its family long before that happened. Since you were almost as much a victim in everything that went on as Jax was, we wanted to give you a chance to be a part of the baby's life." Brenda looked straight into Jane's eyes. "We had decided to approach you before Jax fell, I swear!"

Jane could see that Brenda was telling her the truth. "I believe you, luv. I guess I just needed to hear you say it though." She smiled meekly at Brenda before continuing, "Would you mind telling me the rest?"

Jax picked up the story at this point. "When Madeline found out what Everett was planning, she tried to tell me. Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to her warnings. Right before I fell, I thought I heard someone say something. When I turned around to see who it could have been, I felt someone push me. If I hadn't had my foot in the air ready to step down on the first step I wouldn't have fallen, but since I did, the push was enough to make me lose my balance and down I went." Jax could see both his mother and his wife flinch at the mention of his fall.

"I'm just grateful you weren't hurt worse than you were," Jane said with a shudder. As she realized the truth of the situation, she sat slowly back in her chair. "Come to think of it, why weren't you hurt worse? Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful that you were not seriously injured, but I don’t understand why! I've walked those stairs. If you fell all the way down, your injuries should have been much more severe!" She slowly started to realize the answer to her own question. "It was Madeline, wasn't it? She's the reason you weren't hurt very badly!"

Jax slowly nodded his head. "Yes. She told us after the accident that she had purposely tried to get me between Brenda and Everett, but she hadn't noticed that I had already lifted my foot. When she saw me fall, she did everything she could to slow me down. That's why I wasn't hurt any worse than I was."

At this point Thomas realized that they were getting off track of why they had started talking about this in the first place. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "I think we've kind of gotten off the subject of this lunch here." He looked at everyone sitting around the table before settling his gaze on Jax. "Don't you think it's time we got to the point?"

"You're right, mate. We have gotten sidetracked." Jax looked over at his mother. "The reason we asked you here and told you the truth now is that we need your help."

Jane was surprised. "My help? What can I do?"

Jax couldn’t help feeling nervous. What he was about to ask his mother to do was not a whole lot different than what his father and brother had wanted her to do concerning him. Finally he looked his mother right in the eyes as he answered her. “I want you to set up a meeting with Jerry and dad at our house.”

Jane was speechless. She had long ago accepted the fact that there would never again be a relationship between her younger son and the rest of her family. Now all of a sudden here was Jax asking her to set up a meeting among the three of them – at Jax’s house yet! Slowly it dawned on her that there was more to this than a sudden urge to reconcile the family. “Why? You’ve made it very clear that you want nothing to do with your father and brother. Why all of a sudden are you eager to make peace with them?” She was surprised at what she saw when she looked in Jax’s eyes. She had expected to see understanding or sincerity, but instead she saw the cold blue steel that she had not seen since that awful afternoon at the penthouse after Jerry had been arrested.

“Don’t get the wrong impression, mum. I have no desire to make peace with either of them! I'd prefer never to set eyes on either one of them again! It just happens that I ‘need’ them right now, that’s all! If I had my way neither one of them would come within a mile of any member of my family, including you!” Jax could see that his coldness had frightened his mother. He reached over and put his hand on top of hers. When she looked up at him, she saw that a gentle smile had replaced the coldness. “I’m sorry about that, mum. I could have phrased that better.” He gently squeezed her hand. “If there was another way to do this without involving you – OR THEM – I’d do it, but unfortunately there isn’t.”

Seeing the frustration in Jax’s eyes Jane softly caressed his hand with hers. “That’s okay, son, I understand how you feel. But what I still don’t understand is why you want me to arrange a meeting with your father and Jerry if you feel so strongly about them. Does it have something to do with what you were telling me earlier? About those ghosts in your house?”

Before Brenda or Jax could say anything Thomas answered her question. “That’s exactly what it’s about, Jane.” Thomas couldn’t help feeling guilty as he looked quickly over at Brenda before continuing, “See, Jax and I have been trying for months to get this Everett out of the house without success. Madeline thought she could convince him to leave them alone if she could just talk to him, but for some reason they cannot be in the same room at the same time. Apparently Everett doesn't realize that Madeline is the other spirit in the house, so he is preventing her from coming near him when he’s out. Madeline figured that if we could ‘distract’ him enough, he’d let down his guard and she could get in and talk him into leaving everyone alone. If that doesn’t work she feels she can force him out of the house so this entire mess will be over and done with!”

"I still don't see what this has to do with John and Jerry." Jane found herself becoming more confused instead of less.

Thomas took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, Jane, but bringing them into the house and the reaction it will cause is the only thing any of us, including Madeline, can come up with that would distract Everett enough to allow her to contact him."

"I hear what you are saying, Thomas, but I still don't understand why it has to be them. Please understand, I'm not refusing your request. I just need to know why before I make a decision on whether or not to help you." Jane moved her gaze from Thomas over to where Jax and Brenda were sitting, holding hands. She was startled when she saw Jax almost jump up from his chair and walk over to stand by the windows.

"It's actually very simple, mum. Everett thinks I have my priorities screwed up! He thinks I spend too much time with Brenda and not enough time on my business!" Without even turning back to see his mother, Jax knew she was about to say something. "Please let me finish! When dad and Jerry made that run on Jacks International, Everett decided that they were his kind of businessmen. The kind that value the dollar more than family! Ever since then he's been trying to make me more like them!" Jax was surprised when he felt Brenda behind him. He had not noticed her reflection in the window when she had gotten up from the table. He could feel himself relax as he felt her hand on his arm. He relished the touch of her hand on his arm and immediately reached up and wrapped it around her shoulders before continuing.

"Since everything else we've tried has not been enough of a distraction for Madeline to get near him, we finally realized that the only thing that would stir him up enough was to create a situation where he would have to come out to support them against me!" Jax felt Brenda tense up, so he tightened his hold on her. "If he sees dad and Jerry trying to convince me that my way of doing things is wrong, he won't be able to resist putting his two cents in. And if I can get the discussion intense enough for him to become totally involved, then Madeline will be able to get past him and get him out of our lives for good!" He and Brenda finally turned back to look at Jane.

The confusion was gone from Jane's face but had been replaced by what could best be described as fear. "Have you given any thought to how this plan will affect Brenda? She is only a few weeks away from having the baby, after all. Do you really think this kind of stress is good for her? Or the baby?"

This time it was Brenda who could feel Jax tense up. She knew her husband well enough to know that he had misunderstood his mother's questions. She squeezed her arm more tightly around his waist, which caused him to look down at her. The expression on her face told him more than words ever could have. Brenda was relieved when she felt Jax relax in her embrace. He had understood.

"You're right, mum. This situation would be far too stressful for Brenda to be anywhere near it!" Jax chuckled softly. "Actually, that's the other part of this plan that involves you. I'd like you to take her somewhere for the day. Have one of your last girls’ only days before the baby is born. Then, when you two get home all of this will be over and we can get on with our lives." Jax looked expectantly at his mother for her answer. "Well? What do you say? Will you help us?"

Jane didn't answer him right away. It was obvious that she was thinking over everything she had been told. Finally she got up and came over to where Jax and Brenda were standing. "Yes, I'll help you," she said with a smile. "Who knows, maybe something positive will come of this?” She couldn't resist the urge to chuckle at the expression on Jax's face. "I just mean maybe you and your father can actually make some real progress on rebuilding a relationship."

Jax slowly shook his head, unable to resist the urge to smile at his mother. "Ever the optimist! You'll never give up, will you, mum?"

"Nope! I'm not a fool, Jax! I know you're not offering an olive branch to him, and to tell you the truth I don't think I would have believed you if you had. But you never know what will happen when the three of you get together! Anything is possible!" Jane was pleased to see that the smile didn't leave Jax's face. "Regardless of what happens, I'll be glad to set up the meeting. I want this Everett out of your lives as soon as possible. How and when do you want to do this?"

The four of them spent the next half-hour discussing their plans for getting Jerry and John Jacks to come to the house. They created a believable story for Jane to tell that would convince them that Jax was serious about his desire to resolve their problems.

Once they were all comfortable with the plan, Jane got up from the table and, without saying a word, walked over to the window, staring out at the skyline. Jax and Brenda watched her walk away and then looked at each other. Jax slowly got up and walked over to stand behind his mother. "What's wrong, mum?" he asked, as he put his hands on top of her shoulders and gently squeezed.

Jane put her right hand on top of his and patted it lightly. "Oh, I don't know. I just feel strange setting your father up like this." Jane turned around and looked into her son's face. She reached up and cupped the side of his cheek. "Don't worry, I will do whatever is necessary to keep you and Brenda safe. It's just that…"

Jax could see the conflicting emotions in his mother's eyes. "It's just what, mum?" he asked gently.

"It's just that I feel like I'd be building up your father's hopes for a reconciliation with you, knowing all the time that you have no intention of really making peace with him. Jax, I know he's done some hateful things in the past, especially where you and Brenda are concerned, but I've never actually been a part of them. I was usually limited to finding out about it after the fact and then keeping quiet. What you want me to do is set him and your brother up, knowing full well that nothing is going to come of it."

Seeing how upset her mother-in-law was, Brenda came over to join them. "Mom, I understand how you feel – believe me, I do." Brenda put a hand on Jane's arm. "Why don't you do this? Talk to John and Jerry tonight to sound them out on the idea. If they seem sincerely interested in making an attempt to mend things with us, then don't do anything else until you talk to us first. If you feel that they are not looking to reunite the family but want to use Jax's offer as leverage to hurt him or us again than go ahead and make the offer. How does that sound?" Brenda smiled at Jane and then looked up at Jax, who returned her smile with a wink.

A large smile came to Jane's face as she turned and hugged Jax. "I always knew you were smart, son, but the smartest thing you ever did was marry this woman. She's BRILLIANT!" Jane then hugged Brenda and was startled to feel the baby move. "See! Even your child agrees with me!" This last remark made everyone chuckle. "Well, I'd best get moving. I don't want your father wondering where I am."

As they all headed toward the door, Brenda wrapped her arm around Jax's waist. Before opening the door Jane turned back to face the others. "I'll call you tomorrow morning and let you know what I find out." She leaned over and gave Brenda a kiss and a hug, stopping to gently pat her abdomen. She then reached up to caress Jax's cheek before kissing him. Then she turned to leave, looking at Thomas first. "Okay, Thomas, let's get this show on the road!" She walked briskly through the outer office toward the elevator, with Thomas close behind. He would go down to the garage with her and make sure she got safely into her car for the ride home.

6:45 P.M.

Because lunch had taken so long, Jax had gotten backed up with his afternoon appointments and had been forced to stay late to finish up. He was surprised when he walked in the door to see Benton, and not Brenda, waiting for him. He handed Benton his briefcase and took off his coat. "Hello, Benton, where's Brenda?" He looked quickly toward the dining room. "Has she gone into dinner already?"

Benton put the briefcase down on the foyer table and reached for Jax's coat. "No, sir, she's upstairs in your rooms. She said she wasn't feeling well when she came home this afternoon and was going to lie down. I turned off the phones upstairs so she wouldn't be disturbed." Benton was unable to keep a tinge of concern out of his voice. "I had actually expected to see her downstairs before now. I was just going to go check on her when I heard you drive up."

"Have you checked on her at all this afternoon?" Jax asked, with a tinge of anger in his voice.

"Oh, yes, several times. Either I went up or Mrs. Kelly. Everytime we looked in she was sleeping peacefully so we didn't disturb her." Benton could tell that Jax was concerned. "If I may ask, did something happen this afternoon that upset her?"

"No, I don't think so. We had lunch with Thomas and my mum at my office, that's all." Unable to keep his concern in check any longer, Jax headed toward the stairs. "I'll go check on her myself." As he headed up the stairs, Jax stopped and turned back to Benton. "Thank you both for keeping an eye on her this afternoon." Jax acknowledged Benton's tip of his head and headed quickly up the stairs. When he got to their suite, he slowly slid the doors open and looked in. He did not see Brenda in the sitting room so he went into the room, closing the doors behind him. He walked quietly over to the closed bedroom doors and slowly opened them. What he saw when he looked inside made him smile. Brenda was curled up on her side with his pillow snuggled tightly in her arms. Sometime during the afternoon, either Benton or Mrs. Kelly had covered her with the throw from the sitting room sofa.

He walked softly over to the bed and stood next to it, looking down at Brenda. When he saw her stir slightly, he gently sat down on the edge of the bed and gently stroked her hair. Brenda slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. It took her a minute to focus and recognize who he was. When she did, she smiled at him. Jax couldn't help but smile at her. "Hello, sleepy head. Did you have a good sleep?"

When Brenda finally recognized him, she tried to sit up quickly but he had his hands on her shoulders holding her down. "Jax! What time is it?" She looked around trying to see the clock. "I'm so sorry! I must look a sight!" She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to smooth it out.

Jax leaned down and kissed her nose. "You look beautiful." He suddenly grew very serious. "Benton told me you weren't feeling well when you got home. What's wrong? Did you call Dr. Meadows?"

Brenda reached up and gently caressed the side of Jax's face. "I'm fine, honey - HONEST! I was just very tired when I got home and wanted to take a quick nap, that's all! I didn't plan to still be sleeping when you got home." She could see Jax slowly start to relax, but she still saw his concern for her written all over his face. "If you must know, right now there IS something wrong," she said with as much sincerity as she could muster, but she knew she could not keep the mischievous twinkle out of her eyes.

Jax had seen it right away. "Oh really? And just would that be?"

"I REALLY need to go to the bathroom!" She could not help laughing at the shocked expression on Jax's face as he backed away to give her room to get off the bed. When she came back, Jax was still sitting on the side of the bed. "I feel much better now!" she declared. She chuckled and rubbed her abdomen, "So does the baby!"

Jax held out his had to her as she walked over and took it. When she was standing in front of him he leaned forward and placed his cheek against her abdomen, wrapping his arms around her at the same time. They stayed like this for several minutes until Brenda's stomach growled loudly. Jax sat back quickly, "I guess someone is hungry!" When he looked up, he saw that Brenda's face had turned bright red, which caused him to laugh. He stood up and rested his arms on her shoulders. "What do you say I ask Benton to bring our dinner up here and we spend the evening relaxing?" When he saw Brenda nod her approval, he reached for the phone and asked Benton to bring their dinner up.

9:15 P.M.

Brenda and Jax had enjoyed a leisurely dinner in front of the fire in their sitting room and had settled down to enjoy the rest of the evening, when they were startled by the sound of Jax's cell phone. He reached over to get it from the table. "Jax here."

"Son, it's me." Jane was trying to keep the sadness she was feeling out of her voice. "I hope I'm not disturbing you…"

Jax could tell immediately that something was wrong with his mother. When Brenda saw him tense up she looked over at him. "Not at all, mum, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Jax! You were right about them! I was so sure I would call you tomorrow and tell you that they REALLY wanted to work things out, but I was wrong!"

Jax didn't like the sound of his mother's voice. She sounded more upset than he could remember ever hearing her. "Tell me what happened, mum," he said reassuringly. When Brenda heard that, she came over and sat next to him, hoping to catch at least part of the conversation.

"I tried sounding both Jerry and your father out about the possibility of getting the family back together before the baby is born, and the first thing that either one of them could think of was how to use the reunion to get their hands on your business!"

There was a long silence before Jane spoke again. This time there was a definite edge to her voice. "When do you want to set up this meeting, son?"

Brenda could tell by the expression on his face that Jax was disturbed by what his mother was saying. She silently mouthed the question, "What's wrong?" but he just held up his hand to signal her to wait for an answer.

"Are you sure you want to do this, mum? We didn't mean for it to upset you like this." When Jax saw the worry on Brenda's face, he gently squeezed her hand to reassure her that everything was okay.

"I'm more sure than ever that I want to do this, Jax. I want to do everything I can to make things safe for your family."

Jax smiled slightly and nodded his head to Brenda to let her know that things were okay. "In that case, why don't you approach them in a day or so. That way they won't get suspicious about you having brought this up tonight. Why don't you try setting it up for next week, like maybe Thursday the 30th?" He looked over at Brenda and saw her slowly nod her head.

"Okay, son, I'll try. I'll call you as soon as I get things set up on this end." Jane took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she continued, "Give Brenda and the baby a kiss for me, will you? Would you also ask Brenda to give me a call so we can figure out what we're going to do while you're 'cleaning house' with Madeline?"

Sensing that his mother was now more comfortable with what she had to do, Jax smiled again. "I'll do that, mum. Thanks for your help with this. I'll talk to you soon." Jax hit the ‘end’ button on the phone and set it down on the table next to the couch. "You heard?" he asked, as he looked down at Brenda.

"Only part of it. I take it that John and Jerry acted pretty much as you expected?" Brenda looked up at Jax for his answer. "Is your mom okay?"

Jax wrapped his arm around Brenda's shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "She is now, but she was pretty upset when she first called. Unfortunately for her, they acted exactly as I expected. The good news is that she's more than willing to set them up so we can get rid of Everett. The bad news is that she ended up getting hurt again because of them!"

Brenda wrapped her arm around Jax and rested her head against his shoulder. “This will all be over very soon, honey.” She slowly ran her hand across his chest. “Maybe we should ask your mom to come stay with us for a while – at least until after the baby is born. What do you think?” She looked up and was surprised to see a tear forming in Jax’s eye. She reached up to wipe it away just as it started down his cheek. “Jax? What’s wrong?” she asked softly, as she gently caressed the side of his face.

Jax reached up for her hand and drew it to his lips. After gently kissing it, he held it tight against his cheek. “Nothing, nothing at all. It’s just that you never cease to amaze me, that’s all. What made you think to invite her to stay with us for a while?”

After snuggling as close as her expanded figure would allow her to, Brenda finally answered his question. “I just figured that John and Jerry are NOT going to take too well to being used like this, and the first person they are going to blame is your mom. I just figured they could use a cooling-off period.”

Jax lifted her chin with the side of his finger so he could look into her eyes. “There’s something else. What is it?”

“You know me too well, Jasper Jacks!” Brenda said with a chuckle. “You’re right, though. I want her to come stay with us for another reason.” Suddenly feeling like a little girl, Brenda could feel the tears forming in her eyes. “I’m scared about having the baby, Jax. I know that’s silly, but I’d really like to have your mom here with me for a while. Maybe that way I won’t be so scared when the baby is born.” She quickly wiped away the tears that had started streaming down her cheeks. “That must have sounded really dumb, didn’t it?” she asked with a nervous chuckle.

“Not at all, luv. It made perfect sense. I have to admit something to you. I was kind of hoping you’d ask mum to stay with us. I realized a long time ago that there were going to be things about having this baby that would scare you that I couldn’t do anything about. I’m just glad you feel you can turn to my mother.”

Jax smiled down at her before kissing the tip of her nose. “Of course, we’ll ask her to stay. She can stay as long as she wants and you need her to.” He was relieved when he saw a smile come back to Brenda’s face. “Now let’s forget about all of this for the rest of the night. I think you and the little one have had more than enough stress for one day.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek before gently caressing her abdomen. “Those are from, mum. She wanted me to tell you that she loves you – both of you!” Jax pulled Brenda close to him again and they spent the rest of the evening holding each other, both lost in thoughts of the future. Brenda was thinking about the baby and how their lives would change after it was born, and Jax was thinking about what would happen when his father and brother set foot in the house.

September 30, 1999

As expected, John and Jerry had jumped at the opportunity to ‘make peace’ with Jax. Jane had set up a meeting for 2:00 in the afternoon. She had also arranged for Jax’s secretary, Allison, to join her and Brenda on a girls’ outing for the entire afternoon.

Neither Brenda nor Jax had slept well last night. After tossing and turning most of the night, they finally got up around 9:00. It was nearly 10:30 before they came down for breakfast since they had both taken their time in the shower and getting dressed. Once they sat down to eat they had both picked at their breakfast, neither one of them having much of an appetite. Jax could not help but notice the pale color of Brenda's face as they were finishing their coffee. He put down his cup down and reached over for her hand. "Are you okay, luv?" he asked, as he gently ran his thumb across the top of her hand.

Brenda smiled weakly at him. "I think so. I guess I'm just worried about what you are facing this afternoon, that's all. I'm sure I'll be fine when all of this is over." She reached over and put her hand on top of his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

They were both startled by the sound of Madeline's voice. "I agree. I'm sure you will be fine once everything with Everett is resolved. Then the two of you will be free to enjoy your last few weeks together before the baby comes." Madeline was glad to see both Jax and Brenda visibly relax at the sound of her voice.

She could tell by looking at Brenda that there was something wrong that didn’t seem to have anything to do with what was going to happen this afternoon. She walked over and placed a hand on Brenda's shoulder. When Brenda looked up at her, she gave her a reassuring smile. "Try to relax, dear, I'm sure everything will be okay. It's not good for you or the little one for you to be so upset."

Before Brenda had a chance to answer, they heard the front doorbell ring. As Jax got up to answer the door, Madeline quickly faded into the shadows. When Jax came back into the dining room, both Jane and Thomas followed him. "Look who's here!" Jax said, as he tried to lighten Brenda's mood.

When she saw them come into the room Brenda smiled. "Hello, you two. Aren't you guys a little early?" she asked as she looked quickly at her watch.

Jane came over and gave her a quick kiss, immediately noticing her pallor. She glanced quickly over at Jax, who reluctantly shrugged his shoulders to let his mother know he didn't know what was wrong. "Hello, luv. I thought you and I could get a little private time before we meet Allison." The smile left Jane's face as she continued, "Are you feeling okay, dear? You look a little pale." She reached up to check if Brenda had a fever.

Brenda smiled at her mother-in -law's concern. "I'm fine, mom, I just didn't sleep very well last night, that's all." Eager to get off the subject of her health, Brenda quickly changed the subject. "So what did you have in mind for this private time?"

Seeing that Brenda did not want to discuss the subject any further, Jane smiled. "Oh, that's a surprise. Are you ready to go?"

Brenda smiled at Jane and got up slowly. She bent over and gave Jax a quick kiss on the top of his head. "I'll see you later." She lifted his chin so she could look into his eyes. "You take it easy this afternoon, okay? Promise me!"

Jax reached up and pulled her face down for a proper kiss. "I promise. Now, you go and have a good time with Allison and mum." He kissed her quickly again and smiled at her.

Once he was sure Brenda had gone upstairs to get her purse and coat, Jax walked over to his mother. "Keep an eye on her will you, mum? Something's wrong that she's not telling me."

Jane slowly nodded her head. "I noticed. She looks awfully pale. I promise I won't let her do too much." Just then they heard Brenda coming down the stairs. Jane, Jax and Thomas came out into the foyer to meet her. She gave Jax and Thomas both a quick kiss on the cheek and opened the door. "Ready?" she asked as she looked at Brenda. Brenda smiled and headed out the door, followed close behind by her mother-in-law.

Once they were out the door, Jax stood by the window watching them go down the front stairs and get into the car. Sensing Jax's concern for Brenda, Thomas came up to stand next to him and put his hand on Jax's shoulder. "She'll be okay, mate. Jane will keep an eye on her." When Jax turned to face him, he was surprised to see the look of concern on his face. "What's wrong, Jax? Are you worried about this afternoon?"

Jax shook his head. "Right now I don't give a damn about that. There's something wrong with her and she refuses to say anything. I tried to get her to call Dr. Meadows this morning and she refused. She insists that she's fine." Jax looked at Thomas. "Did she look fine to you?"

Thomas had to admit he'd noticed Brenda's pallor. "I did notice that she looked a little pale, but I thought that was because she's nervous about this afternoon. Are you sure there's something else wrong?"

"I know her, Thomas. I can tell when something is wrong and there is definitely something wrong!" Jax took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Well, I'm sure your mum will keep an eye on her. If there is something wrong, she'll make sure Brenda sees her doctor." When Thomas saw Jax slowly nod his head in agreement, he decided it would be best for Jax to get his mind off the subject of Brenda. "Now, what do you say we finalize our plans for your meeting with John and Jerry? Since I won't be here to back you up, I want to make sure everything is ready."

Jax and Thomas went back into the dining room and spent the next two hours going over just about every detail they could think of about the meeting. They tried to imagine any possible problem and come up with a solution. Once they were both comfortable that they had covered all the contingencies, they both leaned back in their chairs. There was nothing to do now but wait. Jax looked at his watch and was surprised to see that it was already 12:45.

"Good lord! It's later than I thought." He looked over at Thomas. "Why don't you stay and have some lunch with me? I could use the company."

"Sure. You know me, I never turn down a free meal - especially Mrs. Kelly's cooking!" Thomas said with a chuckle, relieved to see the first smile all morning on Jax's face.

Thomas was relieved to see Jax becoming more relaxed the longer their lunch continued. As they were finishing their coffee, they were both startled by the sound of the doorbell. Jax glanced quickly at his watch. "DAMN! They're early!" He looked quickly at Thomas. "I don't want them to know you're here, mate. Would you mind waiting in the breakfast room until we're done?" Thomas quickly nodded his agreement. He picked up his things and started for the breakfast room. Jax grabbed his arm as he was turning to leave. "I'm glad you're here, mate." Thomas winked and headed into the breakfast room, closing the door behind him.

When the doorbell rang for a second time, Jax headed quickly into the library, passing Benton in the foyer. Having been briefed earlier by Jax and Thomas, Benton waited to open the door until Jax was in the library and had closed the door. He slowly opened the front door. "May I help you?" he asked. Benton tried his best to keep any sign of emotion out of his voice. Jax and Brenda had filled him in on the history of Jax's family and he completely understood their reluctance to associate with them. Whatever reasons Jax had for asking them over today must have been very important, so he had promised Jax to help in any way that he could.

John and Jerry were startled by the formality of the greeting. They had not expected Jax or Brenda to hire someone so proper. "My name is John Jacks; my son is expecting us." When Benton stepped aside to let them in, John and Jerry walked slowly into the foyer. John could not help but look around since it was the first time he had been in the house. He was extremely impressed by what he saw. "Whoever decorated this place did a nice job," he said to no one in particular.

Benton cleared his throat. "I'm sure Mrs. Jacks will be pleased to know you approve of her work, sir." The curt tone of his voice immediately got both John and Jerry's attention. Before they had a chance to respond, Benton spoke up. "If you will wait here, I will let Mr. Jacks know you are here." Benton walked over to the closed library doors and knocked. When he heard Jax's response, he slowly slid the doors open part way. "Mr. Jacks, there are two gentlemen here to see you."

Jax was surprised by the formal tone of Benton's voice. When he looked up and saw the smile on Benton's face as he spoke, it was difficult for Jax to answer. "Thank you, Benton, show them in please." He made a mental note to thank Benton for his performance when this was over.

Jax winked at Benton as he leaned back in his chair. He couldn't resist the urge to smile briefly. As Benton turned back to the foyer and opened the doors wider, he assumed his formal manner again. Jax took a deep breath and let it out slowly. When he saw his father and brother coming through the door, he stood up to greet them. "Thanks for coming. Why don't we sit down?" he said, as he sat back down in his chair and indicated they should take the chairs in front of the desk.

John could not help but be unnerved by his son's coldness. Since this meeting had been Jax’s idea, he had expected a friendlier greeting. “Hello, son. How are you?”

Jax quickly realized that this was not going well. It was going to be a lot harder than he had expected. Just being in the same room with his father and brother was almost more than he could stand. Before saying anything, he took a deep breath and let it out quietly. “I’m well, thank you, dad.” That hadn’t been too hard, he thought to himself. When he glanced over at the picture of Brenda on his desk, he became determined to make this work.

Several minutes of uncomfortable silence followed. Finally John spoke up. “Your mother tells me you are interested in making peace between us. Can I ask why?”

Jax tented his fingers in front of his chin before answering. “We just decided that we’d like to try one more time to see if we can resolve some of the issues between us before the baby is born. After all, this is your first grandchild, and you’ve already missed so much because of the past. We wanted to see if there was any chance of you being able to be a part of the baby’s future.”

John looked over at Jerry with a smug smile. It was immediately obvious to Jax that neither his farther nor his brother believed what he had said. He also realized that he had said something that had amused Jerry. “Speaking of your little family, where is your wife? I expected to see her standing by your side.” The sarcasm was obvious in John’s voice.

Jax felt ready to explode. He squeezed the arms of his chair before answering. “Actually, she’s out with mum this afternoon. Considering her condition, we felt it would be best for her not to be involved in this little – meeting!” Jax said a silent prayer that he would be able to go through with this, as well as one that they would believe him.

“Glad to hear you say that, Jax” Jerry said with a snicker. “I was beginning to think that you two were joined at the hip!” He looked over at his father before continuing, “So, what’s the real reason why we’re here? You don’t think we actually believed that bull mum was saying about you wanting to make peace with us before that baby is born, do you?” He looked directly at Jax with a cold, angry glint in his eyes, as he continued, “Considering her history, are you really sure it’s yours?” he said with a chuckle.

Before Jax had a chance to respond, John spoke up. “Jerry! That’s enough! That remark was totally uncalled for!” He turned his attention to Jax. “I’m sorry, Jax. That was a crude and insulting remark. Can we just get on with this?”

“You’re in trouble, aren’t you? You’re in over your head and you need us to bail you out!” Jerry blurted out. He was on a roll now, so he might as well say what was on his mind. “I don’t hear you denying it!” He looked over at John. “I told you, dad, he’s in trouble and he doesn’t want that wife to know!” Jerry paused and looked directly at Jax. “She probably couldn’t care less about his business - just as long as he spends all of his time fawning over her! That’s probably why he’s in trouble! He neglected his business to spend time with her, and now he needs our help to save his company!” He looked smugly at Jax. “Am I right?”

As he was getting ready to answer something caught Jax’s eye. He glanced over toward the fireplace and saw Everett standing in the shadows, watching them. Jax leaned forward in his chair, putting both of his hands flat on his desk. He slowly stood up and leaned forward directly in his older brother’s face. “I hate to disappoint you Jerry, but there is NOTHING wrong with my company – and you know it! I asked you and dad here for exactly the reason I said. Having grown up without a family, it’s very important to Brenda that we try to put ours back together before the baby comes. That’s the only reason I asked you here.” He finally looked away from his brother to his father before continuing, “Now, if you have no interest in trying to resolve our issues, you are both free to leave. I have plenty to keep me busy until Brenda and mum get back.” Jax slowly sat back down and again tented his fingers in front of his mouth.

Before John or Jerry had a chance to reply, they were both startled by the sound of another voice. “That’s the real problem, Jax. You only think of work as something to keep you busy until your wife gets home!” John and Jerry both turned slowly to see who had come into the room. They were speechless when they saw a young man, dressed in old-fashioned clothes, walk toward them. “I’m glad to see you’ve finally come to your senses and decided to consult with your father. Maybe he can teach you to get your priorities straight. Lord knows I haven’t been able!” Everett walked up to John and extended his hand. “Everett Stanhope, pleased to meet you.” He did the same to Jerry, who extended his hand to Everett without thinking. “Now that the two of you are here, I’m sure we can convince this young man to get his life in order and stop worrying about unimportant things like his wife and baby.” He slapped John affectionately on the back. “I’m sure you know what I mean. After all, I’m quite sure your wife can take care of Brenda. I know my wife was well cared for by…” Everett suddenly grew silent as thoughts of Madeline filled his mind.

Jax was thoroughly enjoying the sight of his father and brother made speechless by the appearance of the ghost of Everett Stanhope. He was even more pleased to see the figure of Madeline standing INSIDE the library doors. The plan had worked. Just the few minutes that John and Jerry had been in the library had been enough to cause Everett to let down his guard. Jax had to make a serious effort not to smile at what was happening in front of him. Madeline had been right. By the time Brenda got home, this whole situation would be resolved and John and Jerry would once again be gone from their lives.

The glee that Jax had been trying to conceal suddenly disappeared when a cold chill went down his spine. Madeline immediately noticed the change in Jax’s expression and came quickly over to him, forgetting about keeping her presence hidden from Everett. She put her hand on his shoulder. When he looked up at her she could see a look of fear in his eyes. “What is it Jax? What’s wrong?”

John and Jerry were stunned. Now not only was there a man in old-fashioned clothing standing in front of them, but there was a woman as well! It seemed like they had come out of nowhere. They looked at each other before turning their attention to Jax, who didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned about the intruders. It was John who first noticed the frightened expression on Jax’s face. “What is it, son? What’s wrong?” Suddenly realizing what a foolish question that was, John started to say something else when they were all startled by a loud noise from the foyer. It was the sound of the front door flying open and hitting the wall.

The color suddenly drained from Jax’s face and he whispered in a voice that only Madeline could hear. “Brenda!” He jumped up and ran toward the doors, sliding them open as quickly as he could. What he saw in front of him scared him more than anything he could remember. Brenda was leaning forward with both hands on the table. Jane and Allison were both holding her up looking for someone – anyone – to help them.

Just as Jax came out of the library, Thomas came running from the dining room. He looked over the top of Brenda’s head at Jax and knew immediately that something was wrong. Both men got to Brenda at the same time. John and Jerry had stayed in the library, along with Everett and Madeline. As soon as Jane saw Jax, she stepped slightly away so that he could stand next to Brenda. “Thank God you’re here, Jax.” She looked up at her son with a combination of concern and fear in her eyes. “I think the little one has decided to put in an appearance a little early.”

Jax gently brushed Brenda’s hair back behind her ear. When she felt his touch she looked up at him. “Brenda? Are you okay?” He could see the tears streaming down her cheeks as she slowly shook her head. He immediately swept her up in his arms and held her close. He squeezed her tightly for a moment, as she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled her head into the side of his neck before looking over her head at Thomas. “Thomas, let’s go! We need to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible!”

Totally ignoring everyone else, Jax strode quickly out the front door with Thomas close behind. He walked straight to the limo that had just brought the women home and quickly climbed into the back seat without letting go of Brenda, holding her close to him in his lap. Thomas got in right after him and closed the door. The car immediately sped off, leaving everyone still in the house staring at each other in disbelief.

Suddenly reality started to set in for everyone. Allison rushed into the kitchen to talk to Benton and Mrs. Kelly. Jane looked at her husband and son standing in the library. She slowly walked up to John, who held his arms open to her when he saw the fear in her eyes. It wasn’t until she was standing in the library doorway that she saw that they were not alone in the room. As she looked over John’s shoulder, she could not believe what she was seeing. There were Madeline and Everett Stanhope standing about six feet apart, staring at each other like that were meeting for the first time. She realized that Jax’s plan had actually worked. They had managed to distract Everett enough for Madeline to get into the room. She wondered for a moment if they had accomplished everything that they wanted.

Suddenly it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was what was happening with Brenda and that precious baby she was carrying. They had to be okay! They had to!