Jax tried several times after taking off on the flight to Alaska to get Brenda to take a nap but she was much too nervous. She was having a hard enough time just staying in her seat. When the steward brought out their lunch she just picked at her food, eating very little.
"Don't you like it?" Jax asked as he pointed his fork at Brenda's plate.
"What?" she asked as she looked up at him.
"Your food, don't you like it?" Jax said as he pointed at the plate again.
"Oh no, it's great," Brenda said with a sigh as she set her fork down and leaned back in her chair. "I guess I'm just too nervous to eat."
Jax set his fork down and leaned back in his chair. "What are you nervous out? It's just our family. You can handle them, you've already proved that on more than one occasion."
Brenda gave him a slight smile. "It's not that," she said with a trace of sadness in her voice.
"Then what is it?" Jax asked as he leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table.
Brenda took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she leaned forward as well. "Well," she stopped again, not exactly sure how to explain what she was feeling. Finally, she took a deep breath and rested her hands flat on the table. "I guess I'm just not exactly sure how a family acts on Christmas." She couldn't bring herself to look at Jax as she said it.
"What do you mean? Surely you celebrated Christmas with your father and Julia?" Jax asked in a stunned voice.
"Yeah, kind of, I guess," Brenda said as she looked down at her hands. "I mean, we, Julia and I opened presents with my nanny but then daddy and Julia would go off to all the parties he was invited to and I would spend the rest of the day with whatever servants didn't go home to be with their own families."
Jax didn't know what to say. He could not seem to wrap his mind around what Brenda was saying. He simply could not understand a father leaving his child alone on Christmas. Even when things had been at their worst and his father had to take jobs away from home, he always found a way to be home with them - at least for Christmas Day!
When he realized that Brenda was waiting for him to say something he reached over and linked his fingers with hers. "You don't have to worry," he said softly with a reassuring smile. "When it comes to Christmas we are all like a bunch of big kids. Since I know that you already know how to open presents, you've got that part of the day down pat. The rest of the day we spend eating too much and playing with our gifts. Think you can handle that?"
Brenda rested her hand on top of their joined hands. "I think so," she said as she smiled at him. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and exhaled slowly. "Why don't we finish our lunch before it gets cold?"
Jax smiled back and rested his free hand on Brenda's. "Good idea," he said as he gave her hand a pat before letting go and leaning back. He picked up his fork and waited for Brenda to do the same. As soon as she did, she dug into her lunch with her normal enthusiasm. Jax sat watching her for a moment before getting back to his own meal.
After finishing their lunch, Jax and Brenda set out to explore the rest of the plane. Jax had originally suggested the tour as soon as the plane had reached cruising altitude but Brenda had been too nervous. Now that she was calm, she was eager to explore the plane. She was surprised when they opened the door at the back of the plane to find a bedroom. "Wow," she said softly as she looked around the room. "I've never seen anything like this except in pictures of the President's plane," she said as she walked the rest of the way into the bedroom.
"I've heard about planes like this but I've never actually seen one before," Jax said as he looked around the room. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "Wow, this is nice, almost as comfortable as our bed at home," he said as he ran his hand across the comforter on the bed. "What do you say we try it out?"
"Jax!" Brenda said in a shocked voice as she stepped back a little from him.
Realizing what she was thinking, Jax chuckled. "I meant for a nap silly," he said as he shook his head. "We've still got at least three hours before we get to the airstrip. I thought we could get some rest now, because knowing this family we'll be up pretty late tonight. I just figured this would be more comfortable that the couch in the lounge."
Brenda's cheeks turned bright pink. "Oh," she said softly, unable to look at Jax. "In that case, I think it's a good idea." She immediately kicked off her shoes and climbed across the bed to lie down by the wall.
Jax smiled at her for a second before reaching over to the intercom on the bedside table. "Patrick? Mrs. Jacks and I will be resting in the bedroom. I'd appreciate it if you'd wake us when it's time to land." He let go of the intercom button, took off his shoes and lay down next to Brenda. As soon as he did she lifted his arm so that she could snuggle next to him.
"That's better," she said softly with a sigh as she rested her hand on Jax's chest. "Now I can sleep." She exhaled slowly and wrapped herself snuggly around Jax's body. Before she realized it she had dozed off.
Jax quickly found himself dozing when he felt Brenda's slow steady breathing. The last thing he remembered before falling asleep was Brenda sliding her fingers inside his shirt to rest them on his bare chest. He exhaled softly and gently wrapped his hand around her wrist as he fell asleep.
Jax woke up slowly as his mind tried to register a sound he kept hearing. Once he woke up enough, he realized that it was the sound of someone tapping insistently on the door. "What is it Patrick?"
"I'm sorry to disturb you sir, but the pilot has informed me that we are on final approach."
"Thank you Patrick. We'll be out in a minute." Jax took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he gently rubbed his hand on Brenda's arm. "Hey sleepyhead, time to wake up," he said softly as he ran his hand on her arm again.
"I know," Brenda said as she exhaled loudly. She slowly lifted her head from Jax's chest and looked at him.
When he saw her expression Jax knew that her fears had returned. He reached up to cup the side of Brenda's face. "Remember, a bunch of kids who eat too much," he said in a soft reassuring voice.
Brenda gave him a slight nervous smile. "Right, kids," she said softly as she leaned her forehead down on his chest. When she lifted her head she took a deep breath and gave him a more convincing smile. "We better get up," she said as she sat up and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Yeah, you're probably right," Jax said as he sat up as well. "We'll be landing soon, probably about 20 minutes." Jax swung his legs over the side of the bed. He glanced at his watch and suddenly stood up. "I need to talk to Patrick," he said as he slipped on his shoes.
Brenda slid over to the edge of the bed and swung her legs over. "Why? What's wrong?"
"We should have landed an hour ago," Jax said as he turned to look at Brenda. "Why don't you get changed while I talk to Patrick? The things that Charles packed for us are in the closet I think," Jax said as he finished tying his shoes.
"Okay, don't take too long though, you still have to change too before we land," Brenda said as she stepped over to open the closet door.
"I won't be long, I promise," Jax said with a smile as he opened the cabin door. As soon as he stepped into the main cabin and closed the door behind him, the smile disappeared. He walked quickly toward the lounge to get the answers he wanted.
When he got back to the compartment he was surprised to see that Brenda was already changed. He stood in the doorway for a moment watching as she finished fixing her hair. He loved when she pulled her hair up in a ponytail like it was now. When she turned and looked at him, he couldn't help smiling at her. "You look great," he said as he leaned against the doorframe and crossed his ankles.
Brenda blushed as she looked away from him. "Thank you," she said softly as she turned back to the mirror to check her hair again. "What did Patrick say? Why are we so late getting in?"
Jax stepped into the compartment and closed the door before stepping to the side of the bed. He began to unbutton his shirt to change into the warm clothes that Brenda had laid out on the bed for him. "Patrick said that the delay was caused by a strong head wind. Then the pilot had to change course a little to fly around a substantial snowstorm so that added to the delay."
"Is it safe for us to land in the snow?" Brenda asked as she finished putting the last of her things into the carryon bag. When she finished with her things she started folding Jax's clothes as he took them off and putting them in the bag as well. When she put the last of his things in the bag, she pulled the zippers around to close it.
By the time she had finished packing, Jax was pulling the laces up on his second boot. When he finished, he stood up from the edge of the bed to adjust his pant legs over the tops of the boots. He straightened his sweater before glancing at his watch. "Ready? We should be landing in a few minutes." He opened the cabin door and extended his arm out into the lounge.
Brenda took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. A slight smile slowly spread across her face as she saw the love and reassurance on Jax's face. She took another breath, squared her shoulders and walked past him into the lounge, stopping for a second to rest her hand flat on his chest just before stepping through the door.
As they got into the lounge, Patrick came up to them. "You really need to take your seats Mr. Jacks. The pilot has said we are less than five minutes out."
"I'm sorry Patrick," Brenda said as she slipped her arm through Jax's. "I was packing our clothes in the carryon and lost track of the time."
"No need to apologize, Mrs. Jacks," Patrick said with a slight nod. "You still have time." Just then the seatbelt light came on. Patrick held his arm toward the seats in front of them. As soon as Jax and Brenda were seated, he walked quickly to the galley to take his seat with the rest of the crew.
As she felt the plane vibrate and heard the wheels coming down, Brenda linked her fingers with Jax. When she gave him a slightly nervous smile, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze and leaned over to give her a quick reassuring kiss. The kiss ended suddenly when the plane jerked as it touched the ground. When they looked at each other with a startled expression, they both laughed out loud.
It only took a minute or two for the plane to taxi to a stop. As the plane came to a complete stop, Patrick came forward carrying their small bag. "It'll just be a few minutes before we can deplane. They just need to get your luggage into the car." He set the bag next to the door before opening the closet to get out their heavy parkas. When the intercom buzzed he looked over at Jax and Brenda. "You'd better put these on, it's snowing pretty heavily," he said politely as he held up the parkas that Jax had bought during his shopping trip in Beverly Hills.
Jax took Brenda's coat from Patrick and held it up for her to slip into. After sliding it up her arms, he wrapped the coat around her from behind. He held her like that for a moment before giving her a quick squeeze and letting go. When he did he turned to put his own coat on, which Patrick was holding open for him. "Thank you Patrick," he said as he adjusted his sweater under the coat before zipping it up. When he was finished, Patrick handed him a pair of gloves. As he was putting the gloves on he looked over at Brenda. He could tell that she was getting nervous again by the look on her face. Just as he reached for her hand they heard the latch on the door turn. "Remember luv, just a bunch of big kids," he said with a reassuring smile.
"Right, big kids," Brenda said as she exhaled slowly. She then took hold of Jax's hand, linking her gloved fingers with his.
As soon as the door popped its seal, Patrick stepped over in front of Jax. Once the door opened, the stairs automatically folded down to the ground. When they were locked in place a man with his hood up and his head down against the blowing snow climbed them. Patrick and Jax tensed slightly as the man stood in front of them brushing off the snow.
"Geez! And people wonder why I hate this weather," a familiar voice said as he finished brushing off the snow. "What?" Jerry asked as he pushed back his hood and saw Jax and Patrick standing protectively in front of Brenda.
"Jerry?" Brenda asked as she stepped next to Jax and looked at him. When she was sure it was Jerry, she pulled back and punched him in the arm. "You scared me to death!"
Totally confused, Jerry looked from Brenda to Jax as he rubbed his arm where she had punched him. "What's her problem?" he asked Jax.
Before answering him, Jax nodded to Patrick, who was still in a protective stance. "It's okay Patrick," he said with a trace of anger in his voice. "Unfortunately, this jerk is my brother." He waited until Patrick nodded, picked up their carryon bag and quickly headed down the steps before answering. "What the hell were you thinking coming on board like that?" Jax demanded as he rested his hands on his hips.
"What IS your problem? Who else would be boarding your plane at the family airstrip?" Jerry demanded with a trace of anger in his own voice.
As Jax and Jerry stood glaring at each other, it was Brenda who broke the silence with a laugh. She stepped closer to Jerry and leaned up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.
Surprised by her hug, Jerry slowly wrapped his arms around Brenda without taking his eyes off of Jax. A slight smile finally spread across his face as he saw Jax relax. He tightened his arms around Brenda and lifted her up. When he set her back down and she leaned back from him he looked down at her with a big smile. "Now THAT is the greeting I was expecting Little Bit," he said with a laugh. He kept his arms wrapped loosely around Brenda as he looked over at Jax. "You guys ready to go home?"
Brenda stepped over next to Jax and took his hand. She looked up at him for a second as she felt her nervousness returning. When she saw his smile and felt him squeeze her hand again she looked over at Jerry. "Let's go," she said confidently as she let go of Jax's hand to pull her hood up on her head.
Without waiting for Jax to say anything, Jerry pulled his hood up and turned to go down the steps. When he got to the bottom he reached up to help Brenda the rest of the way down. As soon as she got to the second step he put his hands on her waist and lifted her off the rest of the steps. He turned and set her down next to him. By the time he turned back, Jax had already come down the steps. "We better get moving before this snow gets any worse," he said to Jax as he pointed to a SUV parked a few yards away. "Mum and dad are holding dinner for us."
Jax wrapped his arm around Brenda's shoulders before starting toward the SUV. As they got close the front door opened and Clay stepped out into the falling snow and opened both passenger side doors. Jax and Brenda slid into the back seat while Jerry got in the front seat. Clay closed the doors behind them and quickly glanced around before walking around the front of the car and getting back in behind the wheel.
Because of the heavy snow and poor visibility, it took almost twenty minutes before they turned into the compound. When the SUV pulled to a stop in front of the main house, the front door opened immediately. A man they all recognized as Erik ran down the steps and walked quickly to the back of the car as Clay got out to open the hatch.
As soon as they came to a full stop, Jerry and Jax both opened their doors and got out. Once he was out, Jax reached back in to help Brenda out. When she was out he linked his fingers with hers and headed toward the front steps with Jerry right behind them. By the time they got to the top step John and Jane were waiting for them at the open door.
John and Jane both stepped back to let their children into the living room. Jane immediately started brushing the snow off of Brenda as Jerry and Jax brushed themselves off. As Jane finished brushing her off, Brenda put down her hood and pulled off her gloves. "Whew! Does it always snow like this?" she asked with a slight shiver. She blew on her hands before unzipping her parka. She hadn't realized how chilled she had gotten on the ride from the airstrip until she was standing in the warm house.
"The child has caught a chill, Lady," John said firmly as he looked over at Jax, who was taking off his parka. "Don't just stand there boy, get your wife over to the fire before she catches pneumonia!" John said as he gave Jax a slight shove.
"I'm fine dad, really," Brenda said with another shiver as she slowly took her coat off. "I spent most of my childhood in boarding schools in Switzerland. I love the cold and snow." For a second she thought she saw John, Jerry and Jax glance at each other with a strange expression, but when she looked again she didn't see it anymore so she let it go.
John continued to fuss over Brenda. When Jax didn't move fast enough for him he stepped over to wrap his arms around her. "Give me a hug daughter," he said lovingly as he wrapped her in a bear hug.
"For heaven's sake John!" Jane said as she slapped John's arm. "Let the poor girl breathe will you!"
Reluctantly, John released his hold on Brenda. He cupped her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "You look happy," he said softly.
Brenda smiled up at him. "I am happy dad - very happy," she said as she put her hands on his.
John looked at her for a moment longer before leaning down to kiss her forehead. He then let her go and turned to Jax. "Come on, I'll help you take the luggage up to your room." He looked back at Brenda. "You go sit by the fire and get warm. Lady," he said as he looked over at Jane. "Why don't you get the children some hot chocolate?"
"That sounds like a very good idea," Jane said as she put her hand on Brenda's arm. "Dinner will be ready soon. You can relax from your trip until then."
Jax looked over at Brenda. "Sounds like a good idea luv," he said as he picked up a couple of their bags. When he saw Brenda's worried expression he smiled reassuringly at her. "I won't be long," he said as he headed up the steps with John and Jerry carrying the rest of the luggage.
Jerry grunted as he picked up the last two bags. "Good Lord! What's in these things? Rocks?" he moaned as he started up the stairs. He glanced over at Brenda for a second before looking up at Jax who was just reaching the top of the stairs. "I should make you carry all of these yourself, you know," he grumbled. "After all, you're the one who had to marry a model!"
"I heard that Jerry," Brenda said as she turned around to look up at him.
Jax couldn't help chuckling when he turned and saw the guilty expression on Jerry's face. When he looked over the railing at Brenda he could see that she was not nearly as angry as she sounded but was just having some fun teasing Jerry. He gave her a wink when she looked up at him. "You better watch it Jerry. One thing I've learned being married to the most beautiful model in the industry is that you travel with a LOT of luggage." He couldn't help laughing as Jerry got to the top of the stairs. "To be honest with you, this is actually packing light. Just ask Erik and Clay what a 'normal' trip is like."
Jerry just looked at him for a long time until he realized Jax was serious. As he stepped into Jax's bedroom he leaned closer to Jax and whispered so John wouldn't hear. "I don't know why I'm surprised after seeing all that stuff I hauled out here for her on my plane."
Jax glanced over at Jerry. "Speaking of that, where is that stuff?"
Jerry glanced at John for a second then leaned closer to Jax. "I have it stored at the hanger. I thought Brenda would want to be there to sort it all out."
"Good idea," Jax said with a nod. He put the suitcases he was carrying on the bed next to the ones John had already brought up. "Thanks dad," he said with a nod to his father.
"You're welcome son Don't be long now," he said sternly. "Your mother has dinner planned in a few minutes."
"We're ready now. Brenda and I can unpack later," Jax said as he gently tapped the suitcase in front of him. He waited for John and Jerry to walk out first before turning off the light and closing the door behind him.
When they got to the head of the stairs John stopped and looked over the railing. He looked back at Jax and Jerry. "I wonder where everyone is."
With a terrified expression on his face Jerry put his hand on Jax's arm. "Good Lord! You don't think they're in the kitchen do you?" he asked.
Before he could answer they were startled by a firm but feminine voice. "I heard that Jerry Jacks!" Brenda declared without getting up.
Jax chuckled as he wagged his finger at Jerry before heading down the stairs and walking over to the large wing backed chair near the fireplace. When he came around the front he saw Brenda sitting with her feet tucked up under her and a mug of hot cocoa in her hands. "How ya doing? Are you warm yet?" he asked as he stooped in front of her and rested his hands on her knees.
Brenda smiled at him. "I'm fine," she said as she rested one hand on his. "I told you that before. It was just a chill." She reached to cup the side of his face and leaned close to him. "Stop worrying about me, okay," she whispered firmly.
Jax looked deeply into her eyes, not sure why he had the feeling that she wasn't as fine as she kept saying she was. It wasn't until he heard someone behind him clear their throat that he finally stopped staring. He smiled at Brenda for a moment before turning to see Jerry standing in the doorway.
"Sorry," Jerry said sheepishly. "Mum asked me to let you guys know that Astrid has dinner ready."
"Great, I'm starved," Brenda said as she looked back at Jax. "Okay?"
Jax looked at her for a moment longer before standing up. "You bet," he said softly. He reached out his hand to take the mug and put it on the mantle before taking her hand to help her up. When she was standing, Jax thought he noticed her sway slightly. He waited a moment longer to be sure before he linked his fingers with hers and led her to where Jerry was waiting.
Brenda was a little surprised when they walked past the dining room and into the kitchen. As soon as they came through the door, she was greeted by the most amazing smell. She was even more surprised to see the family sitting at the kitchen table. Aside from an occasional midnight snack when she was a child, Brenda could not remember ever eating at the kitchen table.
When John saw Jax and Brenda standing in the doorway, he stood up and pulled out the chair next to him. "There you are," he said with a big smile. "Come, sit down before dinner gets cold."
Brenda stood still for a second looking at the amazing family sitting in front of her before walking over to sit down. Jax sat next to her and Jerry across from her. Jane was already sitting at the other end of the table. Once the whole family was seated, the woman Brenda had seen dishing out food at the stove came over to set the steaming bowls and platters of food in front of them. She was surprised to see that there was nothing fancy or exotic about the meal. It reminded her of when she was a very little girl and would sneak down to the kitchen when her parents had a dinner party to have dinner with the staff.
Jax noticed the far away expression on Brenda's face and reached over to put his hand on hers. When she turned to look at him he smiled lovingly at her. "Everything okay?" he asked softly.
"Better than okay," Brenda said with a smile of her own. "Let's eat, I'm starving," she said as she patted his hand. She turned to look at John and gave him a slight smile. "I'm really glad you and mom invited us for the holiday."
John reached over to cup the side of Brenda's face. "You listen to me daughter. You are as much a member of this family as any of us. You never need an invitation. This is your home child and don't you forget it," he said as he squeezed her cheek. "Okay, come on, let's eat!" He continued to hold Brenda's face until she gave him a slight nod and a big smile. Once he saw her smile, he let go of her face and reached for the bowl in front of him. "Let's eat," he said as he dished out a large helping for himself and passed the bowl to Brenda.
When dinner was finished, they all went into the living room to have their coffee. Jax sat in the chair Brenda had been curled up in before dinner and she sat on the floor in front of him. Jerry sat in the chair opposite them and Jane and John sat on the sofa. Jane poured each of them a cup of coffee, fixing it exactly the way each liked it, even Brenda, which surprised her a little.
They sat like this, talking about the coming holiday, for quite a while. As all the excitement of the day started to drift away, Brenda set her coffee cup down on the hearth and rested her head against the side of Jax's knee. When she did, Jax automatically put his hand on her head and began to gently stroke her hair. It didn't take long for Brenda to feel so relaxed that she felt herself starting to doze off.
Jane was the first to notice that Brenda had fallen asleep. She looked over at John who was talking and put her hand on his arm to quiet him. When he looked at her questioningly she pointed to Brenda sleeping with her arms wrapped loosely around Jax's leg. They both couldn't help smiling when they looked back at each other. John glanced over at Jerry. When he saw the expression on his older son's face he nodded his head slightly to signal Jane to look at Jerry. When she did she couldn't help feeling a little sad as she saw Jerry's expression. The only description she could think of for what she saw was a trace of envy - for what Jax had with Brenda - but was missing from his own life. Jane made a silent wish that Jerry would find what Jax obviously had with Brenda for himself - and soon!
Jax glanced down at Brenda sleeping against his knee and smiled. When she hadn't said anything for a while he figured she had fallen asleep. He glanced up and saw the rest of his family looking at Brenda. He smiled at them for a moment before looking back down at Brenda. He gently shook her shoulder to wake her. She stirred slightly but didn't wake up. He leaned down to give her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Wake up luv," he whispered as he gently brushed her hair from her face.
Brenda slowly opened her eyes to see Jax right in front of her. "What?" she asked softly as she tried to focus her eyes.
"Come on sleepyhead, it's time to get you to bed," Jax said softly as he gave her another kiss on the cheek.
Finally awake enough to realize what had happened, Brenda could feel her cheeks turning red. She lifted her head from against Jax's knee and looked over at Jane and John. "I'm so sorry," she said as she looked down again. "I don't know what happened."
"Don't be silly child," Jane said with a very maternal smile. "I'm glad that you feel so comfortable here. This is your home now dear. You can go to sleep any time you want, any where you want." She looked over at John who nodded his agreement. "Jax is right though, it's been a very long day for you both. Go on up to bed now and get a good night sleep. We'll have plenty of time to talk tomorrow."
Brenda struggled to stop the tears she could feel forming in her eyes from spilling down her cheeks. Except for her wedding night, she could not remember ever feeling so loved. She took a deep breath and looked up at Jax. She gave him a smile before moving to stand. As she did, Jerry jumped up to help her while Jax stood up behind her. "Thanks," she said softly as she looked up at Jerry.
"You're welcome Little Bit," Jerry said softly as he leaned forward to kiss Brenda's forehead. "Sleep well," he said before giving her another kiss and leaning back to look up at Jax. "See you in the morning."
Jax gave him a slight nod as he wrapped his arm around Brenda's shoulders. "Good night," he said as he looked over at John and Jane. He looked down at Brenda and tightened his hold on her. "Come on sleepyhead, let's get you to bed." With that he swept her up in his arms to carry her up the stairs. He was glad that she didn't object. In fact, she wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled her head against his shoulder as she tried to hide a yawn.
John, Jane and Jerry all smiled as they watched her. None of them said a word as they watched Jax rest his cheek on top of Brenda's head and carry her upstairs to their room. As they disappeared down the hall, Jerry walked over to the bar and poured himself a large drink. "Damn, I envy him," Jerry said softly as he chugged down the drink. He set the empty glass on the bar and ran his fingers through his hair as he looked up at the empty stairs.
Jane came up to Jerry and rested her hand on his arm. "You'll find someone luv, when you least expect it." When Jerry looked at her doubtfully, she smiled at him. "That's how your brother did it - actually, from what he told me, it was Brenda who found him," she said with a slight smile.
Jerry looked at his mother for several moments before giving her a slight smile and patting her hand on his arm. "Thanks mum," he said softly before leaning over to kiss her cheek. When he leaned back up he looked over at John. "I'm going to call it a night too," he said before leaning forward to kiss Jane's forehead and gently pat her hand again. After Jerry was gone, Jane looked over at John. "That was odd," she said as she looked up the stairs. "I didn't think Jerry was ready to settle down yet."
John glanced up the stairs for a second before looking at Jane. "I don't think he knew he was ready yet either, luv," he said softly. He walked over and wrapped his arm around Jane's shoulders. "Come on, let's call it a night. We've got a busy day tomorrow." When Jane looked up at him he smiled. "Not only is tomorrow Christmas Eve, but it's also our first Christmas with our new daughter and I want everything to be perfect for her."
Jane smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Not to mention having Jerry HOME for Christmas as well." She leaned back and looked up at John. "This is going to be a perfect Christmas." After leaning in slightly to kiss her husband's cheek, Jane stepped away and reached for his hand. "Come on, let's go to bed. The fire will take care of itself." As soon as John took her hand they headed toward the steps and up to their bedroom.
When he got to their room, Jax was surprised to see that not only was there a roaring fire in the hearth, but their bags had been removed from the bed which had already been turned down for them. He stood in the doorway and glanced around the room. When he didn't see the luggage anywhere, he made a mental note to thank Cassie, his parent's housekeeper, for unpacking their things and getting their room ready for them. He walked over to the bed and gently laid Brenda down. He stood looking down at her, a little surprised that she hadn't woken up when he laid her down. When it didn't look like she was going to wake up, he began to gently undress her. When he finished, he removed his own clothes and got into bed next to her, pulling the thick down comforter up over them both. Brenda immediately snuggled close, wrapping her arm around his ribs and resting her head on his chest. When she leaned forward to softly kiss his chest, Jax looked down at her as he wrapped his arm around her. He smiled when he realized that she had done all of this without waking up. He kissed the top of her head as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and closed his eyes.
Jax slowly opened his eyes as he felt Brenda stirring in his arms. He tilted his head to look down at her face just as she opened her eyes. "Good morning luv," he said softly with a big smile as he leaned down to give her a kiss. He was surprised when Brenda turned her head so that what he had intended as a quick kiss suddenly turned into a long, passionate one. When she finally leaned back from him, Jax cupped the side of Brenda's face in his hand and gave her a loving smile. "Oh I like that," he said as he pulled her further up so that she was lying completely on top of him.
Brenda chuckled as she leaned up to give him another quick kiss before resting her chin on her stacked hands on his chest. She couldn't help smiling at how happy she was, lying here in bed with the man she loved more than life itself. She lifted her head and began to trace circles on Jax's chest. "Thank you for bringing me here," she said softly as she leaned down to kiss his chest. As she was about to settle back on her hands she suddenly remembered what had happened last night. "Oh God Jax! I can't believe that I fell asleep in front of your parents last night! They must be furious with me. I have to go apologize to them!" she said as she started to get out of bed.
Jax tightened his arms around her to keep her close. "Relax luv, you have nothing to apologize for. This is your home. They are thrilled that you felt comfortable enough to fall asleep like that your first night here." When he saw the uncertainty in Brenda's eyes, he reached up to cup the side of her face. "Listen to me luv, you are as much a member of this family as Jerry or me. Don't you ever think you are a guest here - because you aren't!"
Brenda looked into his eyes for several moments before a smile slowly spread across her face. She gently brushed the tips of her fingers across his chest as she lowered her eyes to his chest. "Since I don't remember anything after falling asleep on your knee by the fire, I presume I have you to thank for putting me to bed?"
"Why would you think that?" Jax asked innocently as he tilted his head to see Brenda's face.
"Oh I don't know," Brenda said as she looked up at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "Maybe it's the fact that I have nothing on," she said as she lifted the covers a little and looked down. "And neither do you!" She let go of the covers and slid further up his body so that she was face to face with him. "You wouldn't have an ulterior motive now would you?" she asked as she leaned down to give him a quick soft kiss.
As Brenda leaned down, Jax rolled them over so that he was on top of her. He immediately turned the quick kiss into a long, passionate one. It wasn't long before they were making love with their usual total abandon, not caring where they were or who might hear. It wasn't until they were both totally satisfied and lying wrapped tightly around each other that Brenda thought about it. When she did she groaned loudly and buried her face in Jax's chest.
"What's wrong?" Jax asked as he pushed Brenda's hair behind her ear and hooked his finger under her chin to lift her face. "Are you okay?"
Brenda's cheeks were pink with embarrassment when she looked up at him. "What if your parents heard us? Or Jerry?" she asked as her cheeks grew a deeper shade of pink.
Seeing how upset she was getting, Jax reached up to take her face in his hands. "You don't have to worry luv," he said with a reassuring smile. "It's almost 9:00. Mum and dad have probably been up for at least two hours. As for Jerry, I heard him in the hall about 45 minutes ago, so we're most likely the only ones still up here." When he saw that she was still concerned, Jax's smile got a little bigger. "I'm sure mum told Cassie to hold off on cleaning up here until we came down as well. She wouldn't want anything to wake you your first night here."
Brenda looked deeply into Jax's eyes before finally starting to relax. Slowly she leaned down to rest her chin on her stacked hands. She looked at his chest as she traced small circles on it. "I guess we should get up then," she said as she finally looked up at him.
Jax looked down at her and smiled again. "I think so. Besides, you have all of those packages that Jerry brought up to go through," he said in a serious tone.
"Oh my God! I forgot about that!" she said as she sat up, pulling the sheet up around her. "Do you know what Jerry did with them? Are they here at the house?" she asked quickly as she ran her fingers through her hair.
Jax couldn't resist chuckling as he sat up against the headboard. "No, they are not here. Jerry has them secured at the hanger. He figured you'd want to go through them first."
"Brilliance must run in this family's genes," Brenda said as she turned to cup the side of Jax's face. "He's almost as brilliant as you are."
"Oh really? And what have I done that is so brilliant?" Jax asked teasingly as he leaned his face tighter into Brenda's hand.
"Why marrying me of course!" she said with a chuckle.
"Oh, that," he said with a very large but very smug grin.
Brenda's mouth dropped open at his smugness and pushed his face to the side. "Oh you are so full of yourself! I'm going to take a shower before your ego gets any bigger!" With that she let go of the covers, got out of bed and walked into the bathroom without a thought about the fact she was naked. She was a little surprised to see her toiletries neatly arranged on the sink top and her robe hanging on the back of the door. When she opened the door to the shower she found her shampoo and bodywash waiting for her. As she turned on the water and stepped in, she made a mental note to ask Jax who she had to thank for doing all of this.
When she came out of the bathroom about twenty minutes later, she was surprised to find that the bedroom was empty. "Jax?" she called out as she walked over to the closet to get her clothes. She turned around when she heard the hallway door open. She smiled as she watched Jax walk in wearing his heavy white terrycloth bathrobe and drying his hair with a towel. "There you are," she said as she walked over to him. "Where did you go?"
Jax looked at Brenda as she walked closer, putting down the towel and running his fingers through his still wet hair. "I figured you'd want to get over to the hanger as soon as possible so I used Jerry's shower." As he walked the rest of the way to her, he took hold of each end of the towel. When he got close enough, he flipped the towel behind her and used it to pull her closer. "Did you miss me?"
Brenda leaned back against the towel and rested her hands flat on his chest. "You can think that if it makes you feel better," she said with a chuckle and a twinkle in her eyes. They continued to stare at each other for several more moments before Brenda cleared her throat and moved her hands across Jax's chest. "Ah, we should finish dressing. Your folks are going to think I've turned you into a late sleeper."
Jax chuckled and let go of the towel so he could cup her face in his hands. "They already know that luv," he said with a chuckle. "Aren't you really just in a hurry to get to that hanger?"
Brenda looked up at him for a moment before a slightly embarrassed smile slowly spread across her face. "Weelll there's that too," she said with a soft sigh. "Do you mind? Really?"
This time it was Jax who sighed as he looked down at her. "Of course not," he said with a chuckle before leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "Come on, let's finish dressing so you can get to work." He leaned down again to give her another quick kiss before letting go of her face. He picked up the towel from the floor and walked into the bathroom to shave. He stopped at the door to look back at her and saw her sway slightly. Before he could say anything though, she took a deep breath and shook her head to clear it. He decided to keep an eye on her to see if this was more than just nerves.
It only took them about fifteen minutes to finish dressing and go downstairs. When they got to the kitchen they found the table set and waiting for them. As Jax was pouring their coffee Jerry came into the kitchen carrying his empty cup. "Well it's about time you two showed up!" he said as he leaned against the side of the refrigerator.
"Good morning to you too, Jerry," Brenda said happily. "Are you ready to take me to the hanger to get my things?" she asked as she took sip of her coffee and started to stand up.
"Hold on a minute, luv," Jax said as he rested his hand on Brenda's arm. "You're not going anywhere until you eat something," he said as he pulled her back down to her chair.
"Jax! I've got a ton of work to do if I'm going to have everything ready by tonight!" Brenda said as she crossed her arms across her chest and looked at him in frustration.
Jerry suddenly stood up straight and looked from Brenda to Jax. "Why did you tell her?" he demanded. "You know mum and dad wanted it to be a surprise!"
"Tell me what?" Brenda asked as she looked from Jerry to Jax.
Jax leaned his elbows on the table and covered his face with his hands as he groaned. "I didn't say anything big mouth - but you just did!"
Suddenly realizing what Jax was saying, Jerry grimaced. "Uh, I think I have some snow to jump into," he said as he turned and walked quickly out of the kitchen, not bothering to get his coffee.
"Jax? What did Jerry mean about tonight?" Brenda asked as she leaned forward and pulled Jax's hands from his face.
Jax rested his hand on Brenda's. "Can you just wait until tonight to find out? It will mean a lot to mum and dad." He looked expectantly at Brenda, waiting for an answer.
Seeing how important this was to him, Brenda smiled and rested her free hand on Jax's. "Sure," she said sincerely as she patted his hand. When she saw the doubt in his eyes she gave it a slight squeeze. "Just this once, I promise to wait and be surprised."
"Thank you," Jax said softly with a loving smile. "Now, eat your breakfast so you can get started." When he saw her start to protest he held up his hand. "No arguments! You've been taking care of me for the past month. Now I get to take care of you - so eat!"
Brenda looked at him for a moment before shrugging her shoulders in defeat. "Okay, okay, I'll eat something," she said as she slowly shook her head.
After they finished breakfast Jax helped Brenda with her parka and gloves. "Are you sure I can't come with you?" he asked as he rested his arms on her shoulders.
"I'll be fine with Erik and Clay, now that Jerry has gone into hiding somewhere," Brenda said with a cute little girl smile. "Besides," she said as she wrapped her arms around him. "If you come with me I'll never finish." She leaned forward to rest her forehead against his chest.
Jax lowered his arms to loosely wrap them around her and gently ran his hand around her back. Finally he reached to lift Brenda's face from his chest. "When you put it that way, I guess I probably should stay here," he said with an understanding smile. When Brenda smiled back at him and started to lean up to kiss him, he gently wrapped his hands around her upper arms. "You just be careful and keep close to Erik and Clay. I don't think there is any way that anyone could know we're here, but with it being the holiday somebody might have made a lucky guess."
Suddenly realizing that Jax was right, Brenda leaned back a little further to look up at him. "Do you really think he could find us here? I mean, this place is in the middle of nowhere. Anyone who tried would be seen coming for miles."
"I doubt he even knows this place exists, let alone suspects we're here," Jax said as he gently rubbed his hands on her arms. "It just doesn't hurt to be careful."
"Okay," Brenda said as she smiled back at him. She adjusted her gloves and reached to pull the hood of her parka up onto her head. "I won't be long - maybe an hour or so. I just want to make sure that everything is there and bring the family's presents to the house." She gave him another quick kiss before heading for the front hallway. When she got to the living room and saw that it was starting to snow, she looked over to where Erik and Clay were waiting for her. "Come on guys, we need to go - now!" she said as she tightened up her hood. "Ready?" she asked.
"Ready when you are Mrs. J," Erik said as he finished pulling on his gloves and walked toward the door. When he opened it Clay walked out first, looked around and then walked out to start the car. Erik then stepped out, followed by Brenda, who glanced back at Jax for a second. She wiggled her fingers, waving goodbye and pulled the door closed behind her. As they drove away, Brenda turned and waved to Jax, who stood in the doorway until he couldn't see the car anymore before closing it and walking back to the kitchen for another cup of coffee.
It had taken Brenda a little longer than she had expected to get back to the house from the airstrip because it had started to snow heavily while she was working in the hanger. As the SUV came to a stop in front of the house, Jax and Jerry both came out onto the front porch. Jax rushed down the steps to open the door for Brenda and swept her up in his arms as she started to step out, not setting her down again until they got to the porch.
"What did you do that for?" Brenda asked as she straightened her coat and looked at him curiously.
"You were gone so long I was starting to get worried," Jax said as he looked her over to make sure she was okay. "Jerry and I were about to go looking for you when we heard you pull up."
"I know we're late, I'm sorry," Brenda said as she pushed her hood back off her head. "It had started to snow really bad while we were in the hanger so Clay had to drive a lot slower than usual," she explained calmly.
"Hey, are you going to stand there all day or are you going to help us with this stuff?" Jerry yelled from the back of the car.
Jax looked at Brenda for a moment to make sure that she was okay before turning and walking to the back of the car. He let Jerry hand him two very large plastic bags filled with gifts. Jerry grabbed two more and Erik grabbed the last two. Clay closed the hatch as the three men walked toward the house. Brenda held the front door open so they could carry the bags inside. After setting his bags in the dining room with the other, Erik went back outside, got in the SUV and drove away with Clay.
Jerry stood staring at the bags. "Where's the rest of the stuff?" he asked as he looked at the small pile of gifts in front of him. "I'm sure there was a lot more stuff than this!"
"You're right, there is more," Brenda said calmly as she pulled her gloves off and shoved them in her coat pockets. "Erik and Clay repacked the rest of the stuff for me so we can take them back to Port Charles. We're going to have a late Christmas with some of our friends there when we get home."
As Brenda started to undo her coat, John and Jane came into the room. "Good, you're all ready," John said as he pulled his gloves on.
Brenda looked from John, to Jax and back to John. "Ready for what dad?" she asked as she looked at each of the other members of the Jacks family.
John and Jane looked at each other for a second before looking at Jax and Jerry. "Didn't you boys tell her?"
"I was just about to when you guys came in," Jax said. He turned to look at Brenda. "Whenever we're here for Christmas we go out in the back yard on Christmas Eve and cut down our tree. Then we set it up in the living room and spend the afternoon decorating it."
Brenda was stunned. She had noticed that there was no tree, but she had not expected this type of family tradition from a global family likes the Jacks family. Finally, she looked away for a second before leaning closer to Jax. "You should have told me before this," she said softly with a trace of embarrassment for her reaction.
"I know, I wanted it to be a surprise," Jax said softly as he leaned closer still. "Can you forgive me?" he asked in his most pitiful voice.
Unable to resist that voice or the expression on his face, Brenda smiled and looked up at him. "Of course," she said with a loving smile. "You know I can't stay mad at you."
"Now that you two have settled that, can we please get started?" Jerry asked as he crossed his arms in front of himself. "Traipsing around in the middle of a blizzard to chop down some poor tree is not exactly my idea of a good time!"
"Jerry!" Jane said in a voice that sounded to Brenda like a mother scolding a little boy.
Jerry looked over at his mother. "What?" he asked innocently.
After giving Jerry a disapproving look for several moments, Jane finally shook her head slowly. "Oh never mind," she said with a sigh. "Let's just go."
Without saying anything else, Jax opened the French door behind him and held out his hand to Brenda. The two of them walked out onto the porch, followed by Jerry, Jane and then John, who pulled the doors closed behind him. They walked around to the side of the house where Jerry and Jax each picked up a large saw before heading out into the yard. About a hundred yards from the house there was a small wooded area. Brenda and the others moved from tree to tree, inspecting each one. Suddenly Brenda stopped in front of a beautiful blue spruce. She slowly looked up from the bottom to the top and back down again, gently brushing the snow off of one branch with her fingertips. She slowly turned to look at Jax who then turned to look at the rest of the family. They all smiled and nodded in unison. Jax then looked back at Brenda and nodded to her, which made her do her now familiar happy dance. Having never seen their daughter in law like this, Jane and John both laughed out loud at her childlike excitement.
It only took a few minutes for Jerry and Jax to cut down the tree. The entire family helped carry it back to the house. As they got close to the house, Brenda saw the French doors they had come out of earlier open, allowing them to take the tree right into the living room. She was surprised to see that the furniture had already been rearranged and a stand was set up in the corner by the stairs. They carried the tree to the stand and slowly stood it up. It took several minutes for them to get it straight. When they were satisfied that it was straight, all five of them stepped back to admire it, Jax wrapping his arm around Brenda's shoulders from behind as she leaned back against him.
"That is the most beautiful tree I have ever seen," Brenda said softly as she rested her hands on Jax's arm.
"It is, isn't it," Jane said softly as she looked proudly at the tree for a moment before looked around at her family.
As the men fussed with the tree a little more to 'make sure' it was straight, Brenda and Jane stood watching from across the room. Several times Jane made suggestions on straightening it since the three of them were too close to tell. Just as everyone was satisfied that it was finally straight, Cassie came into the room carrying a tray full of mugs of cider.
"Perfect timing Cassie," Jerry said as he walked over to get a mug. Cassie gave him a smile and a wink and headed over to the rest of the family. She extended the tray slightly. After John took two mugs from the tray, she turned toward Jax.
"Thank you luv," Jax said as he reached for the last two mugs. He gave one to Brenda and kept one for himself. "Here you go luv, be careful it's hot."
"Thanks," Brenda said as she took the mug. She looked at him over the rim of the mug as she took a small careful sip of the hot liquid. "Umm, this is great. What's in it?"
"No one knows for sure except Cassie," John said with a slight chuckle. "It's her secret recipe and she won't tell anyone - not even Jax!"
"John Stop!" Jane said with a chuckle as she slowly shook her head. She looked at Brenda for a second before looking at Jerry and giving him a slight nod.
Jerry nodded back and set his mug on the nearby table. He walked over to the large wooden box sitting behind the couch. He pulled off the cover and reached in for something. He walked over to Brenda, holding whatever he had removed from the crate behind his back. When he got to Brenda he reached for her mug and handed it to Jax. He then took her hand and led her to the tree. "This family is not known for its traditions, but we do have one that goes back to before Jax was born." He stopped for a second and looked over at Jax. He took a deep breath and looked back at Brenda. He pulled his hand out from behind his back and held it out to Brenda. "Mum and dad bought this ornament for their first Christmas tree. Every year since then, regardless of how poor or how rich we were, this is always the first ornament put on the tree. At first mum and dad took turns hanging it. Then, when I got old enough, I was allowed to hang it. After me it was Jax who did the honors." He stopped and looked away for a second. "Now that you've joined the family we'd like you to do the honors. When you two have a child he will hang it."
Brenda just stared at Jerry for a moment before slowly turning to look at Jax. When she saw him smile and give her a slight nod, she turned back to Jerry and slowly reached for the ornament. She could see her hand shaking as she slowly wrapped her fingers around it. She looked over at John and Jane as she held the ornament cupped gently in both of her hands. "Where should I hang it?" she asked in a quiet shaky voice.
"Anywhere you want child," John said lovingly as he fought to keep the tears filling his eyes from spilling.
Brenda looked down at the ornament for a moment, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She turned toward the tree and started to look at every branch from the bottom to the top. Suddenly her eyes came to rest on a branch very near the top. She reached up to hang the ornament but couldn't quite reach. She tried again but still couldn't reach the branch. Suddenly she felt herself being lifted off the ground, just far enough to put the ornament on the branch she wanted. When her feet were back on the ground she turned to look at Jerry. "Thank you big brother," she said softly and stood up on her toes to kiss his cheek.
Jerry gave her a smile as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. When he leaned back, he looked over at the rest of his family. Until he saw the expressions on their faces he didn't realize the meaning of what they had done. He looked over at Brenda and saw her still staring at the tree, tears now running down her cheeks. He quickly cleared his throat and looked away from all of them so they wouldn't see the tears on his face. "Right," he said as he cleared his throat again. "Are we going to just stand around or are we going to finish this tree?" he said as he looked back at the rest of the family.
Jax was the first to move. He gave Jerry a slight pat on the arm as he walked past to wrap his arm around Brenda's shoulders. When she looked up at him and he saw the tears on her cheeks, he leaned down and rested his forehead against hers for a moment. "Come on, we've got a tree to decorate," he said as he leaned back to give her a loving smile.
Brenda sniffled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I'm ready," she said with a smile and another sniffle. She wrapped her arm around Jax's waist and rested her head against his chest for a moment. She gave him a quick squeeze before letting go and turning back to the rest of the family. "Where do we start?" she asked as she walked over to them.
Jane wrapped her arm around Brenda. "You and I are going into the kitchen to make some sandwiches for lunch. The men are going to need all the time they can get to put the light strings on the tree." When they heard that, John, Jerry and Jax all turned to look at her. "Well it's true!" she declared with a chuckle. "Come on dear, let's let them work." With that she tightened her arm around Brenda and led her toward the kitchen.
By the time Jane and Brenda came back carrying trays of sandwiches and coffee, John, Jerry and Jax were just finishing with the lights. "Perfect timing," Jerry said as he came over to take the tray from his mother and John took the tray from Brenda.
After finishing lunch, they spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening decorating the tree. It was starting to get dark by the time the last ornament was hung and the last piece of garland draped. They all stepped back in unison to look at the finished tree. Brenda pulled Jax's arms around her and leaned back against his chest. John reached over and flipped the switch to light the tree. Brenda drew in a sharp breath as she looked at the tree; certain she had never seen a more beautiful tree in her life. "Wow," she said softly as she wrapped her arms around herself, resting her hands on Jax's upper arms as she did.
As they were all admiring the tree, Cassie came into the room. "Dinner is ready, folks," she said as she walked further into the room, resting her hands on her hips. When she saw the tree she stopped and stared at it. "Wow," she said softly as she looked the tree up and down. She finally looked over at the family. "This is the best tree you've had so far."
"Yes it is, isn't it," Jane said proudly as her eyes drifted from the tree to each member of her family. When her gaze got to John, she gave him a loving smiled and took a deep breath. "Okay, enough admiring of the tree. Let's have dinner." She quickly wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. She turned to reach out her hand to her husband. "John?"
John looked from the glowing tree to each of his children, convinced that the tree seemed extra beautiful because ALL of his children were gathered around it. He reached to take Jane's hand and walked into the kitchen with her. Jerry followed right behind them, leaving Jax and Brenda alone looking at the tree with their arms wrapped securely around each other. After a couple more minutes they headed into the kitchen as well, never having said a word.
After dinner they all went back to the living room for coffee and dessert. When they finished, everyone went to get the presents they had brought and took turns spreading the brightly wrapped packages beneath the tree. After the last packages were beneath the tree, they turned off the lights in room and admired the tree with just the light from the fire and the tree itself to illuminate the room.
"Wow," Jerry said softly as he looked at the tree. When he looked over at Brenda and Jax wrapped around each other and his parents with their arms around each other he felt something he could not remember ever feeling before - loneliness. He quickly looked back at the tree as he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to call it a night," he said as he headed toward the stairs without really looking at anyone.
"Good idea," John said. "We've got a very busy day tomorrow." He stepped over to Brenda, took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "Merry Christmas daughter," he said softly with a very loving smile. He looked over at Jane and Jax. "God, how I've always wanted to say that," he said with a chuckle.
"Good night dad," Brenda said as she fought to keep the tears filling her eyes from spilling down her cheeks. "Merry Christmas to you dad and you too 'mum'," she said in her best Australian accent as she gave Jane a quick glance. She looked back at John. "I can't imagine any better parents to spend Christmas with." When she looked over at Jane and saw the tears streaming down her cheeks, she felt the tears she had been struggling to hold back stream down her face. She let go of John and walked quickly over to Jane and wrapped her arms around her. "I love you," she whispered so only Jane could hear.
Jane wrapped her arms tightly around Brenda. "I love you too child, like one of my own." She held Brenda for several moments before leaning back enough to look at her. She reached to wipe the tears from Brenda's cheeks. "Stop this now," she said with a chuckle as she struggled to halt her own tears. "This is going to be a very happy Christmas for all of us. This is not a time for tears."
Brenda looked at Jane and wiped the last of the tears from her cheeks. "You're right, this is going to be a VERY happy Christmas," she said softly as she reached to cup the side of Jane's face. "It's our family's first Christmas together."
Jax came up and wrapped his arms around both of them. "Are you ready to call it a night?" he asked softly when Brenda looked up at him. When he saw her nod yes, he looked over at his mother. "We'll see you in the morning. Happy Christmas mum," he said softly as he leaned down to kiss her forehead.
"Good night children, Happy Christmas," Jane said softly as she gently squeezed each of their forearms.
Jax squeezed Brenda's shoulders quickly and rested his cheek on top of her head for a moment before leading her toward the stairs. As they walked past, Brenda stopped to give John a kiss and wish him a Merry Christmas.
Brenda was sitting cross-legged in the bed when Jax came out of the bathroom. She held up the covers for him to get into bed before saying anything to him. "I know we said we would wait until morning to exchange gifts," she said softly as she slipped her fingers inside the open front of his pajama top. "But, since this is our first Christmas together, I wanted to give you something special - something private now." She looked at Jax for a moment before removing her hand from his shirt and reaching under her pillow for a small, beautifully wrapped box. She tentatively extended the box to Jax. "Merry Christmas my love," she said in a soft shaky voice.
Jax looked at her for a moment before reaching for the box. "I can't believe you did this," he says as he slowly shook his head and smiled. He set the box Brenda had just given him on his lap and turned to reach into his bedside table. When he turned back to her he had a small, beautifully wrapped box in his hand. He held the box out to her. "I guess we had the same idea," he said with a smile. "Merry Christmas to you too, luv."
Brenda slowly reached for the box, her hand obviously shaking. She gently lifted the box from his hand and slowly wrapped her fingers around it, holding it close to her heart. "Open yours first," she said softly as she nodded to the box on Jax's lap.
"Are you sure you don't want to go first?" Jax asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
Brenda smiled back at him. "I'm positive," she said with a nod. "Go on, open your gift."
Jax pulled off the bow and ripped open the bright paper. He found himself holding a flat velvet box with the Tiffany's emblem on the top. He slowly opened the lid. "Oh Brenda," he said softly as he slowly lifted the solid gold medallion and chain out of the box. The medallion was about an inch in diameter with two linked wedding bands engraved on the front.
"Turn it over," Brenda said as she reached to turn the medallion over.
"Nobody Leaves," Jax said softly as he read the elegant engraving on the back of the medallion.
"Do you like it?" Brenda asked nervously as she chewed on her lower lip.
Jax looked up at her with tears in his eyes. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he said as he looked at the medallion again for a moment before putting it on. He unbuttoned the rest of the buttons on his shirt and held it open. "How does it look?"
Brenda wiped away the tears that were starting to spill down her cheeks. "It looks perfect," she said as she leaned forward slightly to stroke the medallion on his chest with her fingertips. While she was leaning forward Jax reached up to hold her face in his hands and gave her a passionate kiss that went on forever.
When he finally ended the kiss he leaned back and pointed to the box in Brenda's lap. "Your turn now," he said with a smile.
Brenda stared at him for a moment before looking down at the box. She slowly lifted it, her hands shaking. She looked over at Jax again for just a second before a huge smile spread across her face. She pulled the bow off the package, giggling as she tore at the paper. She stopped short when she saw the Tiffany's emblem on the box. Her hands started to shake as she slowly opened the lid. When she saw what was inside she drew in a quick breath and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Well? What do you think?" Jax asked.
"What do I think?" Brenda asked as she looked over at Jax. "I think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" She slowly pulled out the necklace Jax had given her to look at it more closely. It was two overlapping rings with the words Nobody Leaves and a small perfect diamond in the center. "Put it on for me," she said softly as she handed the necklace to Jax and turned her back to him, lifting her hair out of the way as she did.
Jax leaned forward as he opened the clasp of the necklace. He lifted it over her head and fastened the clasp. When he finished he rested his hands on top of her shoulders and placed a gentle kiss on the side of her neck. "Let's see how it looks," he whispered as he gave her ear a quick kiss. He leaned back as Brenda started to turn around to face him.
"Well?" she asked as she let her hair fall back around her shoulders.
Jax looked at her for a moment before reaching forward to open a couple more buttons on her pajama top. He gently pulled the edges of the shirt open to admire the necklace. "It's perfect," he said as he gently ran his finger along the chain and down to the medallion that now hung between her breasts. "Just like you." With that he wrapped his arms around Brenda and rolled her under him as he began to kiss her passionately. They were soon making love with the total abandon that had come to characterize their lovemaking.
After totally satisfying each other Jax and Brenda lay wrapped tightly around each other as they struggled to return to reality. After several minutes of silence, Brenda gently lifted the medallion from Jax's chest and brushed her thumb across the face of it. "I can't believe we both had the same idea," she said as she laid Jax's medallion down and picked up hers.
Jax lifted her chin with the side of his finger and turned her face to look up at him. "I can," he whispered when she looked up at him. He smiled lovingly at her and leaned down to kiss her. After a quick kiss he leaned his head back on the pillow and pulled the down comforter more snugly around them as he closed his eyes. He could tell almost immediately that Brenda had fallen asleep by the feel of her slow steady breath on his chest. He was soon asleep as well, a slight smile on his face as he held his precious wife in his arms.
Jax woke suddenly to the sound of someone knocking on the door. He gently slipped out of Brenda's arms and slid out of the bed, stopping only long enough to pick up his pajamas from the floor beside the bed and put them on. By the time he opened the door, he was just buttoning the last button on his shirt. He was surprised to see his mother standing in front of him when he opened the door. "Morning mum," he said softly as he wiped his hand across his eyes. "Is something wrong?" he asked as he tried to stifle a yawn.
Jane couldn't help smiling as she looked at her younger son standing in front of her. With his hair rumpled and his eyes not quite open he reminded her of a much younger Jax. She realized in that moment, that no matter how old he got he would always be her blonde haired blue eyed little boy. "No dear, nothing's wrong," she said with a maternal smile. "It's just that it is nearly 9:00 on Christmas morning. Your father and brother are waiting - rather anxiously I might add - to have Christmas. I was just wondering if you and Brenda were going to join us."
Before Jax had a chance to answer, the bedroom door opened further to reveal Brenda standing beside and slightly behind Jax. She was dressed in her pajamas from last night and had her robe pulled tightly around her. She was pulling her hair up into a loose ponytail. "Of course we'll be there!" she said as she finished her hair. She linked her arm with Jax's as she looked up at him. "Right?" she asked with an excited smile.
Jax gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Right, he said softly. He quickly put on the robe that Brenda handed to him. "Let's go mum," he said as he tied the belt on his robe and held his arm out for his mother to lead the way.
Once Jax and Brenda had joined the rest of the family downstairs, the beautiful packages under the tree quickly became two very distinct piles. On one side were the gifts they had all opened. On the other side was the huge mountain of wrapping paper that had until recently covered the gifts. Brenda was looking at the hand made sweater Jane had given her when she heard someone clear their throat. She looked up to see John and Jane standing in front of her.
"We have one more gift for you dear," Jane said as she glanced over at Jerry then John. "It's actually from the three of us." She nodded to John who then handed Brenda a small box wrapped in thick gold paper and tied with a white velvet ribbon.
Brenda looked over at Jax, who just shrugged, obviously not having any idea what this was about. She reached to take the box from John. She slowly removed the ribbon and then carefully removed the wrapping. What she found was a nondescript white box. Her curiosity now completely getting the best of her, she quickly removed the lid and set it on the couch next to her. She set the box in her lap so that she could open the neatly folded tissue in the box, suddenly realizing how light the box felt.
As she lifted the last piece of tissue, Brenda looked down. What she saw in the box confused her even more. All that was in the box was a key - a rather old looking key - but a key just the same. Brenda lifted the key out of the box, the ornament on the ring catching her eye. It was a solid gold replica of a townhouse front step. She turned the key in her hand several times before looking over at Jane. "I'm afraid that I don't understand," she said, her confusion obvious in her voice.
"It's a key luv," John said calmly. "To a townhouse in the Mayfair district of London."
Brenda looked down at the key again and then over at Jax, who looked as confused as she felt. "But why are you giving it to me?" she asked as she looked back at John.
"Because we are giving you the townhouse," John said matter of factly. "We thought you - and Jax - could use it when you are in London for business instead of staying in a hotel. You can also use it when you two want a bit of 'private time' away from the rest of us."
"The place is completely furnished and has a full time staff to maintain it when you're not there," Jane said quickly as she saw the confusion in her daughter-in-law's eyes turn to protest. "Before you say you can't accept it, let me give you an idea to think about. Why don't you think of the house as your private place - a place no one else in the family has ever been or will be without your invitation?" When she saw that Brenda still wasn't completely convinced she tried one more thing. "I can't begin to know how strenuous your modeling shoots may be but wouldn't it be nice at the end of the day to go home to your own home and be pampered by people you know rather than go to a hotel and be alone in a strange room?"
Jax reached over and wrapped his fingers around Brenda's hand with the key in it. "Think of it as someplace that is just ours - yours and mine," he said with a loving smile.
"But why London?" Brenda asked sincerely as she looked from Jax to the others and back to Jax. "You know I want to stop traveling for Deception."
"That's even more reason to accept the house," Jerry said quickly. Everyone turned to look at him, anxious to hear his explanation. "Look, with the possible exception of New York City - where we already have a family apartment - there is no better place for someone famous to have their privacy than London. Those Brits don't care who you are or how famous you are." Jerry could see Brenda starting to relent so he quickly continued. "You can use the place as a hideaway. If you or Jax have 'business' in London you'll have a private place to stay and unwind."
When he heard Jerry mention Brenda having business in London Jax shot him a look that made it very clear that Jerry should watch where he was headed. He did not want Brenda to have the slightest hint of what they were doing to Barrett Industries until they were finished and the company was hers.
Brenda sat silent for a moment as she let Jerry's words sink in. Slowly a smile spread across her face as she looked at Jax for a moment before looking back at Jerry. "When you put it that way it makes such perfect sense." She looked at Jax again. When she felt him gently squeeze her hand and nod slightly she smiled back for a second before taking a deep breath and looking back at the rest of the family. "I'd be honored to accept the house, thank you."
She struggled to stop the tears she felt building by taking a deep breath and exhaling quickly. "I don't have the words to tell you all how much you have given me these past two days." She took another deep breath and cleared her throat. "I don't just mean the material gifts." She wrapped her fingers more tightly around the key she was holding. "Even though they are TOTALLY amazing!" she said with a huge smile. "I want, no I need, to thank you all for opening your hearts to me and giving me the family that I always dreamed of." She could feel the tears start to spill down her cheeks. "I never knew what it felt like to have a family - a mother to talk to about anything and everything, a father to just love me, not to mention spoil me." She smiled at John and then winked at him even with tears running down her cheeks as she said that. "And a big brother to protect me," she said as she looked directly at Jerry. "I think I like that more than anything - besides Jax of course."
Jerry felt his heart was about to fly out of his chest it was beating so fast as he listened to Brenda. It took all of the self-control he had to keep tears from forming in his eyes as she talked about him. He made himself a promise that nothing and no one was going to stop him from making Julia Barrett pay for what she had done and had let be done to 'HIS' little sister when she was a child. No one got away with hurting a Jacks - not Julia and ESPECIALLY not Sonny Corinthos! He took a deep breath and let it out slowly to get his mind back to the present.
Brenda linked her fingers with Jax and looked lovingly into his eyes. "Most of all I want to thank you for giving me my amazing husband. He wouldn't be the man his is today if you hadn't taught him by your example as he was growing up." She leaned over to give Jax a quick kiss. As she wiped the tears from her cheeks she thought she saw something strange in Jerry and John's eyes. For a second she couldn't help thinking it looked like guilt. She quickly let go of that thought as ridiculous though. What on earth could they have to feel guilty about? They were two of the most honest and honorable men she had ever met. She knew they were ruthless when it came to a business deal, but she also knew that they knew the boundaries of legitimate business. As she leaned her head against Jax's shoulder she couldn't help remembering that Jax had once told her that he had learned all of his business tactics from John and Jerry. Since she knew for a fact that Jax was above reproach, so then were John and Jerry.
Jax looked down to see a very slight smile on Brenda's lips. "I love you Brenda," he whispered as he turned her face up to him. He leaned down to give her a quick but passionate kiss.
"I love you too," Brenda whispered when Jax ended the kiss and leaned back slightly. They sat staring into each other's eyes until they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Both Jax and Brenda turned to see the rest of the family looking at them. "Oops," Brenda said as her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. "Sorry about that," she said with a slight chuckle as she looked down at her knees.
"Well if you two are through playing kissy face, I'm starving!" Jerry said with a fake look of disgust on his face. "Can we have breakfast now?"
"Come on Brenda, let's make sure Astrid has everything ready," Jane said as she stood up and extended her hand to Brenda. When Brenda stood up and took Jane's hand, they started toward the kitchen together. Almost immediately, they wrapped their arms around each other without even realizing they had done it.
After watching his wife and his mother disappear into the kitchen and close the door, Jax turned to look at John and Jerry. "Are you people crazy? What were you thinking, giving Brenda that house in London? You could have given everything away!" Jax hissed as his anger built quickly.
"Relax boy," John said as he quickly glanced toward the kitchen. "We bought that house as a wedding gift for the two of you. We were going to give it to you at the wedding but then Miranda showed up with Corinthos and everything fell apart." John glanced at the kitchen door again before continuing. "She has no idea what we're doing and she won't until you are ready to tell her."
Jax looked intently at his father and brother before saying anything. When he finally decided his father was right he also glanced toward the kitchen and back. "How are things going anyway? I haven't had a report in a while."
Jerry and John looked at each other with big smiles before looking back at Jax. "Would you believe we already have control of almost 48% of Barrett Industries?" Jerry said proudly. "You know, I always thought Julia was a smart businesswoman," he said with a slow shake of his head. "God was I wrong! She has left so many holes in that company that it isn't even fun sometimes raiding it." Now he was the one to glance toward the kitchen and back before continuing. "In fact, I called New York right before I flew up to see if she was wise to what we are doing. You are not going to believe what I was told!"
"What?" Jax asked.
"According to my source at BI, the boss had 'just noticed' that something was not right four days ago!" Jerry said slightly disgusted. "Almost 50% of her company is gone and all she realizes is that something is not right!"
"You know Jax, maybe you should give your sister-in-law a call to wish her Merry Christmas," John said to Jax as he crossed his arms in front of himself and rubbed his chin. "Sound her out to see if she has any idea who's doing this. Maybe, if she mentions it, offer to help her out."
"I was thinking of that," Jax said. "But then I thought if she's already suspicious a call like that might focus her suspicions toward us."
"I've got an idea," Jerry said with a snap of his fingers. "Why don't you suggest that Brenda give her sister a call to wish her a Merry Christmas? Then if something is wrong and she says something inappropriate to Brenda, which we all now know she is capable of doing, you can take the phone to tell her not to take her problems out on Brenda and then offer to help if you can."
"Sounds reasonable," Jax said. "Except for the part about letting her rail at Brenda." Jax stopped to take a deep breath. "What about Corinthos? Is he going to be a problem when we get home?"
"I talked to Lily yesterday and she said he's pretty much over the edge looking for you guys," Jerry said calmly. When he saw the expression on Jax's face he stopped. "What?"
"Since when do you call Lily Corinthos instead of Ben to find out how things are going?" Jax asked with a smirk.
"If you must know," Jerry said in a slightly defensive tone, "since she helped us find Brenda." He suddenly felt himself getting a little uncomfortable with where the conversation seemed to be going. "Speaking of Lily," he said nervously. "There's something I probably should have cleared with you before I did it."
Jax looked suspiciously at his older brother. He had to struggle to keep from chuckling when he saw the guilty expression on Jerry's face. "What did you do Jerry?"
"Calm down little brother. It's nothing major," Jerry said, as he held up his hands in front of himself in mock surrender. "It's just that when Lily moved out on Corinthos she needed someplace to stay where he wouldn't find her since she wanted to stay and help nail him. Jerry looked directly at Jax. "She really wants to help you guys nail Corinthos so she convinced her father to get involved. He's got his people digging for things to send Corinthos to prison or at least take apart his territory and drive him out of town."
"Okay, knowing the kind of person Lily is, I can understand that," Jax said slowly. "So what is it that you should have told me sooner?"
"Well," Jerry said slowly before clearing his throat. "Like I said, she needed someplace to stay where Corinthos couldn't find her, someplace he would never think of looking."
"Again, that makes sense," Jax said as he crossed his arms and looked at Jerry sternly. "What AREN'T you telling me?"
"I offered her your penthouse while you guys were gone," Jerry said very quickly. He looked at Jax, trying to gauge how angry he was. He was surprised when he saw a slight smile on Jax's lips as he nodded his head in what appeared to be approval.
"So what's the problem? I think it was a very good idea to have Lily stay in the penthouse. With her in the apartment she and the apartment will be very well guarded. In addition to the people Ben has watching the place I'm sure her father has his own people watching out for her as well."
"Looking out for whom?" Brenda asked from the now open kitchen doorway.
"Lily," Jax said calmly as he walked over to Brenda and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "She left Sonny and since she wants to stay in Port Charles until we stop Sonny, Jerry let her stay in the penthouse while we've been gone."
"In that case it sounds like the penthouse is the safest place for her," Brenda said calmly before reaching for Jax's hand and looking up at him. "Come on, Astrid and mom have breakfast ready." Without another word Jax and Brenda turned and walked into the kitchen, letting the door close behind them.
Jerry slowly turned to look at his father. "Did I miss something?" he asked in an obviously confused voice.
"What do you mean son?" John asked.
"I thought one of them, especially Little Bit, would be mad at me for letting Lily stay in their home without asking. But they weren't. In fact, they both thought it was a good idea!"
"Why wouldn't they?" John asked calmly.
"Because she's still Sonny Corinthos' wife!" Jerry hissed, trying to keep his voice down. "How do they know that she's not doing something to set them up when they get back?"
"You trust her there don't you?" John asked as he turned to look at Jerry full on.
"Yes," Jerry said.
"Don't you get it son? Even if they didn't already know Lily they would have reacted the same way." When he saw the confused expression on Jerry's face he rested his hand on Jerry's arm. "They trust YOU! If you thought it was best for Lily to stay in their home then so do they - even if she's Sonny Corinthos' wife!"
Jerry looked over to the kitchen door for a moment before looking back at John. He suddenly felt uneasy. "Maybe they shouldn't trust so blindly."
"What do you mean? Are you having doubts about Mrs. Corinthos?" John asked as he rested his hand on Jerry's arm.
"No, it's not that," Jerry said with a loud exhale. "It's what you and I have kept from Jax for all these years - and I'm NOT talking about Miranda!"
John looked nervously at the closed kitchen door and tightened his hold on Jerry's arm. "Stop right there!" he hissed. "Jax has no need to know about that part of our business. We agreed a long time ago that that world would never touch him." He looked over at the door again.
"I know what we agreed on dad," Jerry whispered angrily. "I just feel like such a hypocrite. Here you are telling me that Jax and Brenda trust me blindly and then we…"
"Enough!" John hissed. "You are NEVER to mention that part of the business in this house again!"
"John?" came Jane's voice from the kitchen doorway. Seeing the serious expressions on both her son and her husband's faces, she walked further into the room, letting the door close behind her. "What's wrong?"
John and Jerry looked at each other for a moment before turning to look at her. "Nothing luv, nothing at all," John said sweetly as he quickly walked over to her. "Come on, breakfast is getting cold." He turned back to look at Jerry. "Son? Are you coming?"
Jerry took a deep breath and shook his head as he exhaled. "Right behind you dad," he said as he walked toward his parents, obviously still upset about their unfinished discussion.
After a very relaxed breakfast, filled with stories of past Christmases, everyone went back to their rooms to shower and dress. As they were heading toward the stairs John reminded the boys to dress warmly because they would be going outside soon.
Jax was finishing tying his boot when Brenda came out of the bathroom brushing her hair. "I was just thinking," he said as he looked up to watch her pull her hair up into a ponytail. "Why don't you give Julia a call? After all it is Christmas."
Brenda stopped and looked down at the dresser top for a second before slowly looking up at Jax in the mirror. By the expression on her face it was obvious she didn't like the idea. "I don't think so honey. We're not like you and Jerry. She isn't expecting a call from me. If I called her all she would do is ask what I've done wrong now and then ask to talk to you about some great business opportunity she's found."
Jax walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, bending his knees as he did. "She won't do that luv," he said reassuringly as he gently kissed the side of her neck. "Besides, I think it's time I became a member of your family like you've become a member of mine."
Brenda slowly turned around within the circle of Jax's arms. "You don't have to worry about that sweetheart. I'm sure ever since she found out about us Julia has been busy telling all of her business associates that Jasper Jacks is her brother-in-law!" Brenda rested her hands flat on Jax's chest. "Face it Jax. You are NEVER going to have the relationship with Julia that I have with Jerry. She isn't capable of it!" She stopped to take a slow deep breath. "Trust me honey, you really don't want that anyway."
Jax leaned down to rest his forehead against Brenda's. "I'm not expecting us to be best friends luv," he said when he leaned back from her. "I just think we should make the effort. If she doesn't want to be part of this family then it's her loss not ours."
Brenda reached up to wrap her arms around Jax's neck. "When you put it that way how can I object," she said softly with a smile. "Where's the phone?" she asked as she leaned up to give him a quick kiss.
After ending the kiss, Brenda walked over to get the phone from the bedside table. She quickly dialed Julia's number in London. It only took two rings for someone to answer. "Carlton? It's Miss Brenda," Brenda said brightly. "How are you? And Esther?" She was silent as she listened. "Oh that's fantastic! What? Thank you. I can't wait for you to meet him," she said as she looked over at Jax and smiled. "I just called to wish you all a Merry Christmas." She paused again. "Thank you, I'll tell him." She winked at Jax as the smile spread across her entire face. "Is my sister home? I'd like to wish her a Merry Christmas." She put her hand over the mouthpiece. "He's going to get Julia."
"Put it on the speaker so we can both talk to her," Jax said as he pointed at the phone. Brenda nodded and pressed the speakerphone button.
She had just hung up the handset when Julia's voice filled the room. "Well it didn't take long for you to mess up did it?" she asked sarcastically. "What did you do this time Brenda? Has Jax left you already?"
"I'm right here Julia," Jax said curtly as he walked over to stand beside Brenda.
"Oh Jax," Julia stuttered, "I…"
"You know, I convinced Brenda to call you to wish you a Merry Christmas. She really didn't want to because she said you would do exactly what you just did but I convinced her she was wrong - especially on Christmas. Obviously, I was wrong!" Jax said coldly, letting his growing anger at Julia show in his voice.
"I apologize Jax," Julia said quickly. "It's just that knowing Brenda as I do it was a logical conclusion to come to. I hope you'll understand and forgive her when she messes up - and I can promise you that she will. She can't help it. She gets that from her mother," Julia said with an overly exasperated sigh.
As Brenda reached to hang up the phone, Jax put his hand on hers to stop her. When she looked at him the hurt and anger in her eyes was almost more than he could stand. He gently squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Since I'm sure you know we're on a speaker phone, I can only assume that there is some other reason for your abject cruelty," Jax said coldly. "Is there anything I can do to help? After all, we are family now."
Quickly realizing that she had angered her new brother-in-law, Julia took a quick breath. "I apologize Jax," she said with a loud exhale. "You're right though, I do have a lot on my mind right now."
Jax had to struggle to keep his excitement hidden. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
p>Julia thought for a second. "Maybe you can help," she finally said."What's up?" Jax asked in his most concerned voice as he continued to rest his hand on Brenda's, rubbing his thumb gently across the top.
"I hate to talk business on Christmas," Julia said in a strikingly insincere voice. "I know how important family time is to you. Why don't I give you a call at your office tomorrow? We can talk about it then."
Both Brenda and Jax couldn't help shaking their heads in disbelief. "Ah, Julia, we're not in Port Charles. We haven't been for quite some time," he said as he shook his head again. "Since my office is closed until after New Years, why don't you just tell me now so I can see what I can do?"
"If you really don't mind I'd like that," Julia said with a trace of excitement. "I have a proposal to make to you that could be beneficial for both our companies."
Brenda threw her hands up in disgust and slowly shook her head in disbelief. "You are unbelievable Julia!" she said in disgust as she plopped down on the bed.
"Grow up Brenda!" Julia said coldly. "The world doesn't revolve around you! Some of us have to work for a living!" Julia was so angry that she didn't realize what she was saying. "I'm fighting to save my company right now! That's something you wouldn't understand though. You've always had everything handed to you - first by daddy and then by the men you serviced!"
Jax gently squeezed Brenda's hand. When he saw the tears in her eyes it took all the self-control he had not to say what he was feeling to Julia. "Julia! I will ignore that last remark and chalk it up to stress," Jax said in a very cold, very angry voice. "What exactly do you mean you're fighting for your company? What's wrong?"
Suddenly realizing what she had just blurted out, Julia tried to think of a way to make up for what she had said about Brenda. She finally decided that the best way to ease Jax's anger was to tell him everything about the raid on Barrett Industries - then he would understand her stress. She felt if she could convince him of how dire her circumstances were he would understand and help - he had to; after all, he was her brother-in-law. She took a deep breath and suddenly found herself sure that he would use the full power of Jacks International to save her company, if for no other reason than because they were family and family was very important to all the Jacks men.
"Julia?" Jax asked, interrupting her planning.
"Oh, sorry," Julia said quickly. "Okay, well it seems that someone has been buying up pieces of Barrett Industries recently."
"What do you mean?" Jax asked as he looked at Brenda who just shrugged.
"Well it started a couple of months ago," Julia said. "At first it seemed like a really good thing because they were buying up some of our biggest money loosing assets. It seemed to give us some much-needed working capital. But then it just kept happening. One by one subsidiary companies started to disappear without warning!"
"How bad is it Julia?" Brenda asked.
"Now you care?" Julia asked bitterly.
"Just answer me Julia," Brenda demanded. "We can't help if we don't know what's going on!"
"WE!" Julia said with a laugh. "Since when do you know anything about corporate finance? You barely got out of high school!" Julia took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "You know what Jax? Never mind! I'm sure this will blow over as quickly as it started! Enjoy the rest of your vacation." Without waiting for any kind of reply Julia hung up.
"I'm so sorry about that," Jax said as he rubbed his hand up and down Brenda's arm. "I should have listened when you told me you didn't want to call her." He reached up to cup the side of her face. "I shouldn't have let her say those things to you. I should have let you hang up when you wanted."
Brenda leaned her cheek tighter into his hand as she put her hand on his. "It wasn't your fault honey. You were right to encourage me to give Julia one more chance." She lifted her head from his hand and looked at him. "I just can't believe she actually tried to get you to help her."
"Don't you believe that she's really in trouble?" he asked.
"Oh no, I think she's probably in more trouble than she said. I just can't believe that she would try to take advantage of our marriage to get you to bail her out." Brenda got up and walked over to look out the window. "If she is in trouble she brought it on herself."
"Are you sure about that? Couldn't someone just be going after the company?" Jax asked without getting up.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Brenda said with a sigh as she moved the curtain to look out the window. "Julia is not the brilliant businesswoman she thinks she is. She just knew enough to surround herself with the right people. It would serve her right if someone DID take Barrett Industries away from here - especially if they could manage to embarrass her in the business community in the process."
Jax got up and walked over to Brenda, unbelievable proud of her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind and gently pulled her back to lean against his chest. "I love you," he said softly as he rested his cheek against the top of her head.
"I know that," Brenda said with a smile as she wrapped her fingers around his arm. "You know, when I was younger I always thought Julia had a great life, but I was wrong." She turned her head to look up at Jax. "Today I realized that I have so much more than she'll ever have." She leaned forward to kiss his arm. "I have a family that loves me, not for what I can do for them." Keeping her hand on his arm, she leaned her head back against his chest. "Boy, it sure is snowing out there. I don't think I've ever seen it snow like that. Looks like you guys are going to have to postpone whatever it is you have planned for this afternoon."
"Are you kidding? This is exactly the weather we've been waiting for," Jax said as he lifted his head to look out the window.
Brenda watched it snow a little while longer before turning to look up at Jax. "What on earth are you three up to that requires a blizzard like this?"
"You'll see tonight," Jax said with a smile. "It's kind of a family tradition. We actually started it the first Christmas we lived up here and have done it every Christmas since - at least those we could drag Jerry up here for."
"Sounds intriguing, can I come too?" Brenda asked in her sweetest voice.
"No you cannot come," Jax said in a firm voice but with a smile on his face as he rested his forehead against hers. "Even mum doesn't get to come."
Brenda leaned back to look up at him, her curiosity now definitely peaked. "Oh really," she said slowly. "And what exactly am I supposed to do while you guys are off on this secret adventure?" she asked as she rested her hands flat on his chest.
Suddenly realizing that he had no idea what his mother did while they were gone, Jax looked down at Brenda. "I have no idea. I guess whatever it is that mum does while we're gone." He couldn't help but chuckle.
"Thanks a lot!" Brenda said in frustration. She ran her fingers across Jax's sweater, feeling the medallion she had given him through the sweater. "Do you think it would be safe for me to call Ned and Lois? I really want to wish them a Merry Christmas."
Jax couldn't resist smiling at her. "Of course you can call them. Just to play it safe though, use your cell phone instead of the regular phone."
A serious expression suddenly came across Brenda's face. "Are you still worried about Sonny finding us here? Do you think he has the phones tapped?" she asked with a distinctly sad tone in her voice. "What about the call to Julia? Won't he be able to trace that call?
"I don't think he could tap her phone even if he thought about it. Phones in England are under a lot tighter government control than they are here. Besides, even if he did find a way to tap her phone he'd have no idea how to find this place luv," Jax said reassuringly. "But I am also sure he does have Ned and Lois' phone tapped to try to trace any call we might make to them. That's why I suggested you use your cell to call Ned's cell. That way, you can talk to them as long as you want and not worry about anyone tracing or listening in to the call." When he saw the sadness still in Brenda's eyes he reached up to cup the side of her face. "I know its rough luv, but just hang in there a little longer. We'll be free of Corinthos very soon."
Brenda looked deep into Jax's eyes for several moments. When she saw the sincerity there she started to relax a little. "I was really hoping he'd be taken care of before we went home but it doesn't look like that is going to happen does it?" she asked as she leaned her cheek tighter into his hand. "He's still going to be a threat to you when we go home isn't he?"
Jax gently rubbed his thumb across her cheekbone. "For a little while, yes I'm afraid so," he said softly. "We've got a lot of people helping us so don't worry." He looked out the window for a second at the heavy snow coming down and then back at Brenda. "I'm so sorry you have to live like this - with guards and secure phones. I really wanted your life with me to be different than the one you had with Sonny."
"It is Jax -very different," Brenda said as she gently slapped her hands on his chest. "I don't feel like a prisoner this time. I know WHO I'm being protected against and that it is NOT going to last forever! That to me is a very big difference!"
Before Jax had a chance to answer there was a loud knock on the door. "Come on boy, time's a wasting!" came John's loud clear voice through the closed door.
"Got to go," Jax said with a chuckle as he leaned over to give Brenda a quick kiss. "See you for dinner." He didn't even give her a chance to say anything before letting go of her and walking quickly across the room to open the door. "All set dad, let's go."
Jax turned back to Brenda for a second, gave her a wink and walked out with his father, leaving Brenda standing looking at the empty doorway. She turned to look out the window until she saw Jax, Jerry and John walk down the path to the driveway and get into the waiting Jeep. She watched until they disappeared into the snow before walking back into the room. She finished fixing her hair before heading downstairs.
It was almost dark by the time Brenda heard the car pull up in front of the house. She immediately ran to the door and pulled it open. She had tried all afternoon to get Jane to tell her what father and sons were up to but all Jane would tell her was that she'd find out later. "It's about time you got home," she said as they came through the door. "When Jax leaned down to give her a kiss she cupped his face in her hands. "You're frozen!" she said after the kiss. "Come on, get those wet things off and come warm up by the fire."
After helping Jax with his jacket, Brenda took his hand and led him into the living room. Jane was already waiting with a tray full of mugs of steaming hot chocolate. As they walked past her they each picked up a mug. John and Jerry stood in front of the fireplace while Brenda led Jax over to the nearby chair. When he sat down she immediately sat in his lap and wrapped her arm around his neck, resting her head against his shoulder so that her warm face was next to his cold cheek. Jerry couldn't help a twinge of sadness at seeing the obvious love between Jax and Brenda. He shook his head slightly to clear it, wondering why he kept thinking like this. He'd never thought about love and relationships before. Why now?
They had only been in the living room a few minutes when Cassie came in to tell them that dinner was served. John took Jane's hand and led her toward the dining room. Brenda got up from Jax's lap and extended her hand to Jerry. When Jerry took it she turned slightly to make sure Jax was behind her. She then let Jerry lead her toward the dining room just as Jax linked his fingers with her other hand.
Brenda stopped in the doorway, stunned by what she saw in front of her. Jane had refused to let her help with the dinner preparations, so she had spent most of the afternoon talking to Ned and Lois. This was the first time she was seeing the room. It was lit only by candlelight. Dozens of candles were spread around the room, even in sconces on the walls. The table was covered with a beautiful white tablecloth and was set for a formal dinner with sparkling crystal and elegant china. Jerry walked over to the table and pulled out a chair for her. Once she was seated, Jax sat next to her and Jerry across. John and Jane sat at each end of the table.
The dinner that followed was the most amazing meal Brenda had ever eaten. It rivaled the finest meal she had ever had at any five star restaurant in Europe. "That was amazing," Brenda said as she leaned back in her chair.
"I'm glad you liked it dear," Jane said with a smile. "Astrid loves to spoil us when we're all home for the holiday."
"Spoiling us doesn't begin to describe that dinner!" Jerry said as he leaned back in his chair and exhaled loudly. "I think she just wanted to let Jax know that she approves of Little Bit," he said with a wink at Brenda.
"Very funny Jerry," Jax said as he reached over to put his hand on top of Brenda's. "Ignore him luv, he's just had a little too much Christmas cheer."
Before anyone else could say anything, Cassie came into the room, walked over to John and whispered something to him. She left without saying anything to anyone else.
"Cassie tells me everything is ready outside," John said calmly. He wiped his mouth one last time and stood up, dropping his napkin on the table. "Lady?" he said as he held out his arm toward the living room doorway.
Jane smiled at him, set down her napkin and stood up. "Let's go children," she said with a big smile as she walked over to John and headed toward the front door.
Brenda looked from Jax to Jerry and back to Jax. "It's pitch dark outside and snowing like mad. What on earth is going on around here?"
Jerry and Jax looked at each other and smiled. "Come and find out," Jax said as he stood up and extended his hand to Brenda.
"I guess I better," Brenda said with a sigh. "You two certainly aren't going to tell me anything!" She set her napkin on the table and slowly pushed her chair back. She straightened her sweater and smoothed her hair back before walking to the doorway, walking past Jax's extended hand.
Jax looked over at Jerry who just shrugged. "Don't look at me little brother, she's your wife!" he said as he stood up and walked over to Jax. "Come on, let's go," he said as he clapped Jax on the shoulder and walked out.
By the time Jax got to the front hall, the rest of the family were all ready to leave. He quickly pulled on his coat and reached in his pockets for his gloves as John opened the door. They all walked quickly through the snow to the waiting Jeep and drove off into the darkness.
Even as the car slowed to a stop, Brenda still had no idea where they were or what was happening. She was just relieved that the snow had slowed to just flurries. When the car came to a stop, Jax rested his hand on Brenda's knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Come on," he said softly as he got out of the car. He reached back in to help her out. They wrapped their arms around each other as they waited for the rest of the family to get out of the car. Once everyone was out, Jax gave Brenda a gentle squeeze to get her to look up at him. "Time for you last present," he said softly as he took her hand and led her to the top of the rise in the road.
When they got to the top, they stopped and waited for the others to catch up. Still seeing nothing in front of her, Brenda looked up curiously at Jax. She was about to say something when Jax put his finger on her lips to stop here. He looked over at Jerry and gave him a slight nod.
Jerry pulled out a small radio from his pocket. "Now," was all he said before putting the radio back in his pocket.
A moment later the entire field in front of them was awash in light. Brenda could not believe what she saw. She looked up at Jax in disbelief. "Is this what you were doing all day?"
"Yes," Jax said with a big smile. "Come on, let's get a closer look." He took Brenda's hand and led her down the road to the field. When they got to the edge of the field he looked down at her. "What do you think?"
Brenda looked at him in stunned silence for several moments before looking back to the field. She walked forward a little to get a closer look. In front of her stood a huge snow replica of the Jacks family house. It was even decorated with colored lights light the real house. In front of the large house were three snow figures, which Brenda could tell, were John, Jane and Jerry. Next to the large house was a smaller house, not as fancy but also decorated with colored lights. On the front porch of the smaller house were two more snow figures, obviously her and Jax. When she walked closer she stopped short and put her hand on her mouth. Jax had not only carved their likenesses in the snow but he had even included the medallions they had given each other last night.
Brenda looked back at Jax with tears in her eyes. "Oh God Jax, it's beautiful," she said softly as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Jax stepped up to cup the side of her face. "I'm glad you like it," he said with a smile. "In the spring we'll start building the real house near mum and dad's."
"What?" Brenda looked back at the beautiful little house.
Seeing her disbelief, Jax smiled at her. "Maybe it would help if I explained all of this." Brenda nodded. "When we first moved here from Australia we didn't have much money. The five acres surrounding this field were all that dad could afford. At first we lived in a really small house on the top of the rise. Dad felt so bad that there wasn't money for gifts the first Christmas we were here that he came out here and built us a snow house. He brought all of us out here on Christmas day and promised to someday build the real thing. He did that every Christmas until he could actually build the house. Every year as he started to earn more money the snow house got bigger. As he got older Jerry started to help him and then I did." Jax rested his arms on her shoulders. "Once the money started coming in and the real house actually got built, mum suggested we keep building the snow houses so we have." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Now that we're married I thought we could carry on the tradition. This year the house is snow. Next year it will be real."
Brenda rested her hands on Jax's chest. "Just like this one? With a big front porch that we can stand on and watch it snow?" she asked with a smile even though there were tears running down her cheeks.
Jax smiled back, his eyes brimming with his own tears. "If that's what you want," he said softly. He leaned down to give her a kiss.
Wrapping her arms around Jax's waist, Brenda looked up at him. "You do know that this is the most wonderful Christmas in my life don't you? You have given me more in one day then I have gotten in my entire lifetime." She looked over at John, Jerry and Jane who were standing off to the side to give them some privacy. "You've given me a family. You've given me my first real home. Most importantly you've given me you, which has given me a sense of peace that I have never known before.
"For the first time in my life I'm not afraid. Oh I know Sonny is still after us and to some extent so is Miranda, but I know we'll get through it. You know why?"
Jax smiled lovingly as the tears started to spill down his cheeks. "Why?" he whispered.
"Because whatever comes, whoever comes after us, we'll face together," she said softly as she stood up on her toes to wrap her arms around Jax's neck. When she felt him wrap his arms around her waist she pulled herself up and wrapped her legs around his waist as she buried her face in the side of his neck.
After watching the loving exchange between Jax and Brenda for a moment longer, John leaned over to give Jane a kiss on the cheek. He looked at her for a moment before looking over at Jerry. "Nothing and no one spoils that for them," he said coldly.
Jerry looked over at Jax and Brenda for a second before looking back at his father. "Understood," he said in a soft firm voice.
Jane looked at Brenda and Jax for a second before looking first at Jerry and then John. She nodded to each of them in agreement before wrapping an arm around each of them. They all looked at Jax and Brenda again before turning to look at the brightly decorated snow houses, giving Jax and Brenda a chance for a private moment. As they stood silently staring at the snow houses they were each lost in their own thoughts. Jane trying to think of ways to get closer to Brenda to let her know that she now thought of her as her own daughter. John planning ways to bring down Sonny Corinthos - no matter who he had to call in favors from. Finally, Jerry's mind raced to finish the plan to take over Barrett Industries and destroy Julia Barrett. Each made a silent promise to protect Jax and Brenda no matter what.
"This is the best Christmas ever," Jane said softly as she looked up at first Jerry and then John. "And they'll only get better." She smiled as both Jerry and John nodded their agreement. All three then turned to watch Jax and Brenda enjoy their love without a care in the world.