The two weeks since the attempted break in at Brenda's room had gone very quickly. That same afternoon Ned and a technician from ELQ Security had come over and installed a new lock on the front door of Kelly's. Ruby made sure that only she and her tenants had keys to the door, instructing her tenants not to loan their key to anyone. She did not even give keys to the servers who worked in the diner. When they questioned it she simply told them that after the incident the previous night she didn't feel it necessary since she opened up in the morning and closed in the evening.

When one of the servers seemed uncomfortable with the idea of no longer having a key, she mentioned the person's name to Ned, who had his security people check her out. Ruby was surprised when he reported back to her that the woman was married to an employee of Sonny Corrinthos. She quickly figured out that this woman had been Jason's source for the key to Brenda's room, since the spare room keys were kept in the cash register. When Ruby confronted the woman, she reluctantly admitted she had indeed given him the key to have a copy made. Ruby immediately fired her, telling her it had nothing to do with who her husband worked for and everything to do with the woman's betrayal of Ruby's trust.

Jax and Brenda had managed to spend time together just about every day. They had no further run-ins with either Sonny or Jason, but a couple of times Brenda mentioned that she thought they were being followed. When Jax tried to check it out, he could see no one. He had asked the director of security for J&J Jacks to have someone shadow them for a day to see if they were indeed being followed, but the officer didn't spot anyone.

Jax had even gone with her when Katherine Bell had called her in to let her know that she had purchased Deception and that she expected them to have a long and successful working relationship. It was with a great deal of pleasure that Brenda told her that she didn't see that happening since her contract with Deception was up in a couple of weeks, and as a result of the sale of the company, Brenda was now 'considering' offers from other cosmetics companies.

Katherine had immediately accused Lucy of trying to lure her away. Brenda had taken great pleasure in telling her that her decision to leave Deception had nothing to do with Lucy but with her own unwillingness to work with Katherine. This had left Katherine speechless, and before she had a chance to say anything, Brenda had gotten up and walked out with Jax right behind her. When they got on the elevator Brenda collapsed against the wall in a fit of giggles at her own actions. After that, they had then gone out for a long leisurely lunch to celebrate.

Each day they did something new. Today Jax had offered to take her flying. She hadn't realized that he would be doing the actual flying until they got to the airport. When she saw the plane they would be using was a vintage propeller-driven plane, she became concerned. "Ah, Jax? Are you sure about this plane?" she asked, as she looked around the cockpit. "It looks a little - old!"

"That's the beauty of it, luv. It's a classic. I've restored her myself; every inch of her." Just then Brenda reached up to touch one of the knobs on the dashboard and it came off in her hand. When she turned to Jax with the knob in her hand, he smiled at her. "Oops! I've been meaning to fix that." He took the knob from her and slid it back in place.

"Ah, Jax, maybe we should think about this some more." Brenda was sure that her fear was obvious in her voice, and she really didn't care.

Before he could answer her, Jax pulled the radio headset over both of his ears and said something she didn't hear. With a big grin on his face, he reached for the throttle levers. "It's too late now, luv. Buckle your seatbelt 'cause we've been cleared for takeoff." As he eased the throttles forward he could see how scared Brenda was, so he reached over and patted her arm. When she turned to look at him, he gently ran his hand up and down her arm. "You trust me, don't you?" he asked with a smile. When Brenda nodded that she did, he continued: "Then you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Why don't you just sit back and relax? This is going to be a flight like you've never had before. I promise."

Brenda smiled nervously at him as she sat back in her seat. When she felt the plane start to accelerate, she couldn't stop herself from closing her eyes and squeezing the armrests until her knuckles turned white. It wasn't until Jax tapped the bridge of her nose that she opened her eyes. When she looked out the window, she was actually surprised to see that they had taken off successfully. She had never felt the liftoff. "We made it!" she declared a little louder than she had intended. She couldn't help blushing as she looked over at Jax.

"You really doubted we would, didn't you?" Jax asked with a definite tone of disappointment in his voice. "Do you really think I would do anything that could harm you?" he asked.

Realizing that he was right, Brenda reached over and touched his cheek. She gently ran her fingertips over the slightly discolored area that was the only obvious reminder of THAT night, before answering: "Of course not! It's just that I've never been in the cockpit of a plane when it took off before, that's all. Things look a lot different up here than back in the passenger compartment."

Jax had to chuckle at her answer. After thinking about it for a minute, he wasn't sure what she had meant. "Is that good or bad?" he asked.

"Oh, it's DEFINITELY good! This is amazing, Jax," Brenda declared, as she quickly forgot her fear. She sat up higher in her seat to be able to see more out the window. "It's so different up here!" She finally sat back in her seat for a minute, as her mind raced to process all that she was experiencing. She suddenly grabbed Jax's arm. "I want to do this!"

"Do what, luv?" Jax asked.

"Fly a plane!" Brenda declared. "Is it hard to learn?"

"Well, you have to take lessons from a qualified instructor, then you have to log in the required number of supervised flight hours before taking your flight exam." Jax constantly checked the gauges on the dashboard as he was talking.

Brenda turned in her seat to look at him, enjoying the sight of his profile for a moment before saying anything. "Are you a qualified instructor?" she asked, with an obvious twinkle in her eyes.

"As it happens, yes, I am. Why? Are you asking me to teach you how to fly?" Jax asked, with a twinkle in his eyes equally as bright as the one in Brenda's.

"Weeell, that all depends! Are flying lessons expensive?" she asked.

Jax answered her with a chuckle. "I don't want your money, Brenda. I'll be glad to teach you if you're serious about learning to fly."

"Oh, I'm serious alright, Jax. This is the most amazing feeling. I never knew flying could be like this! It's even better than se… uh, anything!" She grew very serious before she continued: "I can't let you give me the lessons for free though… I know! How about if I take you out to dinner whenever we have a lesson?" Brenda was smiling and arching her eyebrows as she waited for his answer. "Well? What do you say?" She placed both of her hands on Jax's forearm and squeezed it slightly.

Jax smiled as he reached over to put his hand on top of hers on his arm. "I told you, Brenda, you don't have to do that." When he saw the determination in her eyes, he slowly shook his head. "Okay, okay, I'll let you take me to dinner tonight. After that we'll see what happens. Deal?"

"Tonight? Does that mean 'yes'?" she asked, as she looked nervously at him. When she saw the smile on his face and his nod she screeched softly and bounced in her seat before suddenly growing very serious. "Wait a minute! If I'm taking you out to dinner tonight does that mean that we're starting the lessons - TODAY?"

In answer to her question, Jax nodded toward the control yoke in front of her. "Put your hands on the yoke," he said very calmly. When she didn't respond right away, Jax took his hands off his controls. "You better do as I say or we're going to find out what happens when no one is flying the plane," he said very calmly, as he again nodded toward the yoke in front of her, as the plane started to slowly nose downward.

When Brenda realized that Jax was not kidding, she grabbed the yoke.

"That's it. Now, there are a few things you need to know to start. To go up, you pull back on the yoke. To go down, you push forward." As Jax gave her each instruction, Brenda did exactly what he said, becoming more excited and less frightened as they went. After about forty-five minutes of exact instructions, Jax let her just fly the plane. He calmly answered any questions she had but basically let her fly by herself. Even though she was flying on her own, Jax kept a close eye on the instruments, and if he noticed anything was wrong, he would calmly give her instructions on how to correct it. Each time he glanced at her, he could see the sheer joy she was feeling as she became more confident in what she was doing.

It was nearly three hours after they had taken off before Jax insisted on taking back control of the plane. "Time for us to head back, luv." When he saw the disappointment on her face, he reached over and squeezed Brenda's forearm, causing her to look over at him. "I promise we'll do this again very soon," he said with a sincere smile.

When she realized that he meant what he said, Brenda returned his smile. "Okay, I'm going to hold you to that" she said with a smile. She released her hold on the yoke as she turned back to look out the windshield. As soon as Jax had taken control of the plane, Brenda reached over and rested her hand on his forearm. She left it there as he brought them back to the airport and finally landed the plane.

Once the plane was parked in front of its hanger, Jax helped Brenda down the stairs to walk back to the car. As soon as they were out of the plane, Brenda immediately wrapped her arm around Jax's waist and he wrapped his around her shoulders. To anyone watching them this seemed like the perfectly natural act of a couple in love. It did not appear that either one of them was even aware they had done it.

When they got to the car, Brenda waited for Jax to open the door for her. As they were pulling out onto the road from the parking lot, Brenda turned in her seat to look at Jax. "That was the most amazing things I've ever done, Jax - thank you!" She reached over and kissed him quickly on the cheek, causing him to smile. "I don't think I can ever repay you for today!"

Jax looked over at her with a big smile and then back at the road. "Well, I do expect to be paid for my services, Ms. Barrett! I believe you offered dinner on you tonight as my payment." Jax again glanced quickly over at her.

"So I did, Mr. Jacks. So I did," Brenda said with a soft laugh. She sat silently as if deep in thought for the rest of the ride. They had pulled into a parking space at Kelly's before she said anything. As Jax turned off the engine, Brenda unbuckled her seatbelt and turned toward him, tucking her leg under her in the seat as she turned. "What do you say we have dinner at Luke's Place tonight?"

Jax was stunned that she would suggest Luke's. He knew that Luke Spencer was not the sole owner of the club. He had a partner - Sonny Corrinthos! He looked over at Brenda, his concern evident on his face. "Are you sure you want to do that, luv?" he asked, as he reached over to cup the side of her face. "You know there is the chance we could see some people you might not want to see if we go there, don't you?" Why put yourself through that? Why don't we have dinner at the Port Charles Grill instead?"

Brenda reached up and pulled his hand from her cheek and held it in both of hers. She looked down at their joined hands for several moments before looking up into Jax's eyes. "I appreciate your concern for me, Jax - I really do!" She took a quick deep breath before she continued: "But I WANT to go to Luke's! It's a great club with terrific food and great music!" When she saw Jax starting to say something, she put her finger on his lips. "Let me finish, please! I know there's a good chance Sonny or Jason will be there, since Sonny is part owner of the place, but I realized something this afternoon. I was happy when I was flying that plane! I mean I was REALLY happy for the first time that I can remember. I also realized that I was feeling that way thanks to you, and I want to feel that happy again! Unfortunately I don't think I can if I don't put my past behind me - if I don't put SONNY behind me!" Brenda could see the uncertainty in Jax's eyes. "Jax, I can't put him behind me if I keep avoiding him or letting you run interference for me. I have to be able to go where I want whenever I want without being afraid of running into Sonny."

Jax smiled softly as he looked at her. He couldn't help feeling proud of her. Whatever the cause, he now realized she had taken a huge step today - a step he couldn't help feeling was a sign of things to come for them. He suddenly found himself feeling even more optimistic about their future. "When you put it that way, how can I refuse?" He couldn't keep from laughing as she almost bounced up and down in her seat.

"Great!" she said excitedly. She reached for Jax's arm and turned it so she could see his watch. "YOW! I didn't realize how late it was!" She paused for a moment as if she were thinking. "How about you meet me at Luke's at 7:30? That will give me time to shower and change." She looked up at him with a huge smile.

Jax was surprised at Brenda's suggestion. "Are you sure you want to do that? Wouldn't you rather I pick you up? After all a gentleman always calls for his date, you know." He couldn't help but smile when he saw the exasperated look on her face. "Okay, okay, I get the message. We'll do this your way." With that he got out of the car and came around to open her door. They walked slowly toward Kelly's. When they got to the front door they stopped. Jax rested his arms on her shoulders. "I'll see you at Luke's at 7:30," he said as he leaned down to kiss her on the lips. He had intended it to be a quick goodbye kiss, but once his lips touched hers, he didn't want the kiss to end. Even more surprising was the feeling he was getting from Brenda that she was not anxious for it to end either! As a result, one quick kiss turned into a string of more and more passionate ones, until finally Jax broke the kiss. "Whew! If we keep that up we'll never get to dinner!" he said very nervously.

Brenda couldn't stop the blush from spreading across her face. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have done that! I don't know what came over me that made me do that!" She was startled when she looked up and saw Jax start to laugh. "What's so funny?" she demanded, as she felt herself quickly becoming angry.

When he saw her face, Jax stopped laughing and got serious as well. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that I couldn't help it when you said you didn't know what made you kiss me like that." He reached up and gently stroked the side of her face. "It's just so obvious to me, Brenda, that I thought you were teasing me." When he saw the confusion building in her eyes, he continued: "We kissed each other like that because we wanted to, because we needed to and because we enjoyed it! It's as simple as that!"

"You don't understand, Jax; it can't be that simple! Oh, I definitely enjoyed it, but there was more. It was exciting and wonderful, and I found myself wanting more!" She paused for a moment before continuing: "It felt so comfortable - so right!" When she looked up at him again, she could no longer keep the tears that were building in her eyes from spilling out - which totally confused Jax.

He immediately pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her as she began to sob. They stood there, holding each other for several minutes, as Brenda continued to cry. All the while Jax was gently running his hand up and down her back in an attempt to calm her down. As he felt her sobs start to subside, he reached up to gently stroke her hair. "It's okay, luv. It's okay." When Brenda finally pulled back from his embrace, he again smiled down at her and gently wiped her tears from her face. "Feeling better?" he asked.

"I'm sorry Jax. I shouldn't have done that! I don't even know where that came from." When she looked at him, she could see that Jax was waiting for her to continue. She sniffled and wiped the last of the tears from her cheeks with her hands. "That's not exactly true. I do know. You see, when Sonny hurt me, I promised myself that I was never going to feel like that about anyone ever again. I promised myself that I was never going to let anyone get that close to me again. Close enough to hurt me!" She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "When I was kissing you just now, I got scared." She looked deep into his eyes. "I want to let you in, Jax - I really do! I'm just not sure I can! I don't know if I can ever trust someone enough to let them get that close…" Her voice trailed off as she looked away from him.

Jax lifted her chin with his finger and turned her face back to him so he could look into her eyes. "It's okay, luv - I understand." He smiled gently before continuing: "I'm in no hurry. You can take as much time as you need. I'm not going anywhere. I'm just grateful you told me that you want to let me in. Knowing that, I can wait forever!" He leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Now, why don't you go take a nice, hot shower and relax? I'll meet you at Luke's at 7:30. Okay?" He looked down at her with a reassuring smile.

Brenda gave him a small smile. "Thank you for understanding, Jax." She sniffled one more time, as the smile got wider and she stood up straighter. "Okay - get going! I need to get ready!" She slapped him lightly on the chest as she spoke. She slowly pulled out of his embrace and turned to walk toward the door. Jax walked up behind her and opened the door for her. She looked up at him one last time. "Thanks," she said with a smile. "I'll see you at Luke's," she said. With that she walked through the open door without looking back.

Jax stood watching through the door until she disappeared up the stairs before turning to walk back to his car. He never noticed the man sitting at one of the tables making notes. If he had been paying more attention, he would have realized that the same man had been in the parking lot at the airport when they got back from their flight. As Jax got into his car and drove away, the man got up and walked quickly over to a car, where another man was waiting. He got in and they pulled out into traffic to follow Jax at a discreet distance.

Luke's Place
7:15 P.M.

Jax was not sure what to expect when he walked up to the door of Luke's Place. From the outside it looked like a rundown warehouse with a few strange figurines, either sitting in the walkway out front or hung on the walls. To add to the confusion, there was a little strip of well-tended garden right in front of the covered entrance. As he walked up to the door, he slowly shook his head, trying to understand what there was about this place that Brenda liked so much. It wasn't until he opened the door and saw the inside that he understood. This place really was amazing, he thought as he walked through the door. The main room of the club was actually very large but still felt very intimate. As he looked around, the only way he could think to describe the décor was eclectic. The walls were painted in several bright colors, with all types of photographs, memorabilia, and paintings hung all over them. There was even a huge, yet tasteful, oil painting of a naked woman hanging over the fireplace! After standing in the doorway for a minute looking around, Jax was approached by a middle-aged man. "A table for one?" he asked.

"No, I'm meeting someone, so there will be two of us for dinner," Jax answered, as he looked around the room to make sure Brenda wasn't there yet. "It looks like I'm a little early, so I'll just have a drink at the bar while I wait, if that's okay?" Jax looked a little more closely at the man standing in front of him. There was something slightly familiar about the man, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He looked like someone Jax knew; he just couldn't place whom.

"Of course. Would you like me to keep an eye out for your party? If you'll give me the name, I'll be glad to," he offered politely.

"I'm not sure she made a reservation, so I guess I'll just keep an eye out for her myself." Jax was getting the very distinct feeling that this man was trying to pump him for information for some reason. Starting to feel a little uncomfortable, he nodded curtly to the man and walked over to the bar to order a drink. For some reason that Jax couldn't understand the man seemed to follow him to the bar.

"I don't think I've ever seen you in here before. Are you new to Port Charles?" he asked.

"No, not really. I've actually been in town for a few months. I've just never been in your club before." Jax was more certain then ever that this man looked familiar. He just couldn't be sure if he knew him or someone who looked like him.

"What brings you here tonight, if I may ask?" the man asked. He could see that Jax was getting suspicious, so he decided to be careful how far he pushed.

"My friend suggested this place for dinner. She lives here in Port Charles and recommended it." Jax was beginning to feel uncomfortable again. This man was asking far too many questions for just idle conversation. Being someone who guarded his privacy, Jax was about to ask why the man was so curious, when he glanced over toward the door and saw Brenda come in.

He could feel himself smiling as he waved to get her attention. She smiled as soon as she saw him and started over to him without even taking off her coat. When he returned his attention to the man standing next to him, he was surprised to see the shocked expression on his face. He had obviously turned when Jax waved to see whom he was meeting. Obviously he recognized Brenda, but why would he be so shocked to see her?

Brenda had a big smile on her face as she walked over to join Jax at the bar. He noticed that smile falter slightly when she saw the man standing next to him. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting, Jax," she said, as she came up to him and kissed him quickly on the cheek, wrapping her arm securely around his waist as she did.

"Not at all." Jax glanced down at his watch and smiled. "Actually, you're exactly on time. I got here a little early." He had already wrapped his arm around her shoulder when she had come up to him, so he gave her a quick squeeze. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head at the same time. As she turned to look at the man standing next to him, Jax could feel her tense up.

"Hello, Mike, how are you?" she asked quietly, as she looked the man straight in the face.

"I'm very well, Brenda, thank you. No need to ask how you are. You look magnificent! What have you been up to that put such excitement in your eyes?" He looked quickly over at Jax to see if he was the cause of the excitement. Mike couldn't tell for sure, but he was pretty sure he was probably a part of it, but not the only reason.

Brenda pulled closer to Jax before answering, "Thank you, Mike. I feel really good. As to why I look like this, it has a lot to do with this man!" she declared, as she rested her hand on Jax's chest. "Have you met my friend Jax?"

"Not formally, no. We were just chatting when you came in. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Jacks." Mike said as he extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you, too, Mike. Please just call me 'Jax,' with an 'x.' Since you are obviously a friend of Brenda's, I hope you will become a friend of mine!" Jax reached out to shake Mike's hand. Just as he was letting go, Brenda spoke up again.

"Jax, Mike is Sonny's father. He works here as the Maitre' de." Brenda could feel Jax stiffen at the mention of Mike's connection to Sonny, so she gently moved the hand she had resting on his chest in small circles to let him know it was okay. "Mike, you won't believe what I did this afternoon! I took flying lessons!" As she started remembering the fun she had this afternoon, Brenda started to relax. "I actually flew an airplane! Jax is going to help me get my pilot's license and then I can take you for a ride!"

"I don't think I ever told you this, Brenda, but I have a terrible fear of heights. So if you don't mind I think I'll keep my feet on the ground" Mike said with a smile.

"Oh, well, I guess it's just you and me, babe!" Brenda said with a laugh as she looked up at Jax.

Jax slowly shook his head as he looked over the top of Brenda's head at Mike. "The things I do for this woman." he said with a sigh and then a laugh when she slapped his chest.

"Mike, can we have a table? I promised to buy Jax dinner in return for my flying lesson, and I couldn't think of a better place than Luke's!" Brenda declared with a smile directed at him.

Mike smiled back at her, as he grabbed a couple of dinner menus from the bar. "When you put it like that, how can I refuse?" he said as he winked at her. He extended his arm for them to go ahead of him. "Let me show you to one of our best tables."

"What exactly makes this one of your best tables, Mike?" Jax asked, as he looked around when they stopped.

"It's near the dance floor and away from the kitchen!" Mike answered with a quick smile.

Jax helped Brenda remove her coat as Mike pulled out her chair. He was delighted to see she was wearing one of the dresses they had bought in LA. Once Brenda was seated, Jax handed him the coat and took his own seat. Mike then handed both of them a menu, as he signaled for the server to come over.

"Enjoy your dinner. If you need anything let me know" Mike said with a short nod of his head. Just then the server came up to the table. "This is Tess. She'll be your server this evening." He put his hand gently on the girl's arm. "Bring them a bottle of wine, their choice, and charge it to me."

"Mike, NO!" Brenda said as she looked up at him. "You don't have to do that!"

"I know I don't have to, Brenda, but I want to. It's my way of congratulating you on your amazing recovery from your accident." He gently rested his hand on her shoulder before continuing: "It's also my way of wishing you a happy future. From what I can see, you are definitely on the right track!" He looked over at Jax with a smile. "Whatever it is that you're doing for her, Jax, please keep doing it. I don't think I've ever seen her this happy or relaxed - especially here!" He extended his hand to Jax. When Jax reached up to take his hand, Mike continued: "If you ever need anything - either of you - please call on me."

"Thank you, Mike, but I really haven't done anything for Brenda. She's done it for herself. I just gave her the opportunity!" Jax said, as he looked over at Brenda with a smile. "Actually, I just kind of stood by and watched." Jax reached over and put his hand on her arm and winked.

Mike could tell that this was something Jax was not going to take credit for, so he let it drop. He had to admit he was surprised. If he had said the same thing to Sonny, he would have fallen all over himself taking credit. Mike was beginning to understand what had put the light in Brenda's eyes, and it had nothing to do with flying a plane. It had more to do with the man she was having dinner with! "Well, whatever it is, please keep doing it. It's great to see Brenda this happy. Enjoy your evening." With that, Mike reached over and put his hand on Jax's shoulder as well and gave them both a slight squeeze before walking back to the door.

Not long after he had seated Jax and Brenda, Mike was reviewing the list of reservations with one of the servers, when he was startled by the sound of a voice behind him. "What does a guy have to do to get a table around here? Own the joint?" Sonny demanded, with a grin on his face. Mike looked around quickly to see Sonny and Lily, then glanced over to where Jax and Brenda were laughing about something one of them had said. He suddenly had a bad feeling about the rest of the evening. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen.

"Hello, Lily. Hello, son," he said a little nervously. He looked quickly at the reservation list. "I didn't realize you two were coming in tonight. I didn't see your name in the reservation book. I'm afraid it'll be a couple of minutes before I can have a table for you. As you can see we're packed tonight."

"That's okay, Mike. We'll wait at the bar," Lily said. She could see Sonny about to say something to Mike. "Come on, Sonny. I'd like a glass of wine while we wait for our table." With that, she smiled at Mike and linked her arm with Sonny's.

Sonny looked over at her and smiled before looking back at Mike. "I want the next available table, whether you're holding a reservation for it or not!" He then turned and walked over to the bar with Lily. After ordering their drinks, Sonny turned and leaned his back against the bar as he looked slowly around the room. He was surprised when he got to the edge of the dance floor and saw Brenda and Jax sitting at a table. He stood watching them for several moments, thinking how beautiful Brenda looked and how much he wanted her right now.

Mike had been shifting his attention back and forth between Brenda and Sonny. It didn't appear to him that Brenda had noticed Sonny come in, but Sonny was VERY aware of Brenda - AND JAX! Mike came over to stand next to Sonny, pretty sure of what he was thinking. "She looks really terrific, doesn't she?" he asked quietly as he continued to look at Brenda. "She seems very happy with her friend Jax, too." Mike suddenly stepped in front of Sonny, blocking his view of Brenda. "Leave her alone, son. You've made your choice. You're married to a beautiful woman. Be satisfied with that. Leave Brenda alone to get on with her life!"

"What suddenly gives you the idea you get a voice in my life, Mike? You have no clue as to how I feel about Brenda or how she feels about me!" Sonny looked over at Brenda again when he heard the sound of her laughter. He could feel his hatred for Jax growing by the second when he saw how truly relaxed and happy Brenda was with him. He could not remember her ever laughing so much when they were together and that just made him angrier. As he continued to watch her, Brenda leaned forward to say something to Jax then suddenly sat back and threw a small piece of bread at him. As he stood watching the natural playfulness she and Jax shared, he realized that in all the time they had been together he had never seen this side of her. She had always been very subdued whenever they would go out. She would never have thought to start a food fight with him. As he continued to watch them and the ease with which they related to each other, it occurred to him that if he didn't do something quickly, he might actually lose her - to that pretty boy!

"What are they doing in my club?" he asked Mike, purposely focusing his attention away from Brenda. "What possessed you to book a reservation from that guy? Don't tell me you haven't figured out he's only using her?"

Before answering Sonny, Mike glanced over toward Jax and Brenda. He was delighted to see how happy she was. She looked more relaxed tonight with Jax than she had ever looked when he had seen her with Sonny. As he watched her for a moment longer, he realized that she truly was moving on with her life. He also realized that Sonny was not! He could tell by the look on Sonny's face as he watched her that he was seeing the same thing. He also knew his son well enough to know that he was not about to let it happen - at least not without a fight!

He glanced over to Jax and Brenda one more time before answering: "HE didn't make a reservation Sonny. He's Brenda's guest." Mike could see the surprise on Sonny's face. "Apparently Mr. Jacks is teaching Brenda how to fly a plane, so she's taking him to dinner tonight to thank him." He looked Sonny straight in the eyes before continuing: "Did you want me to refuse HER request for a table?" Mike did not even try to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

Before Sonny could say anything, one of the servers came over and whispered in Mike's ear. He nodded his head slightly before reaching to pick up two menus from the bar. "If you and Lily will follow me, your table is ready." Without allowing Sonny time to say anything, Mike started toward their table. Lily, who had been standing next to Sonny watching him during his conversation with his father, walked right past him without saying a word. She followed Mike to their table and sat down when he held out the chair for her. Sonny followed behind slowly - but not before taking one last look over at Brenda.

Neither Jax nor Brenda had seen Sonny and Lily come into the club. They had been too busy enjoying each other's company. It wasn't until they had finished their dinner and gotten up to dance that they saw them. As the music ended, they found themselves on the opposite end of the dance floor. Jax leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, which she willingly returned. When they turned to walk back to their table, Brenda stopped suddenly when she saw Sonny and Lily. When she stopped, Jax looked over to where she was staring. He could feel his stomach lurch. He had been afraid of this all evening.

Bending down to whisper in her ear, he asked, "Are you okay, luv? Do you want to leave?" He wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, pulling her close to him.

Brenda took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out slowly. She leaned her head closer to him and wrapped her arm tightly around his waist. "No, Jax, I want to stay!" she said as she looked up at him. He could see fear in her eyes, but there was also something else - determination. "I HAVE to stay!" When she saw the uncertainty in his eyes, she smiled. "I really appreciate you wanting to protect me, but I have to get used to seeing him in public. I can't keep running from him. I want to close the door on that part of my life, so I can open the door to my future."

Jax returned her smile. He understood now why she had wanted to come here. She had WANTED to run into Sonny! He was sure that her remark about closing the door to her past and opening the door to her future was referring to their relationship. He was more certain than ever that they had a real future ahead of them. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "In that case, we'll stay." He gave her a quick squeeze. "Do you want to go back to the table?" he asked.

Brenda smiled up at him. She was sure he had understood what she had meant. She was beginning to believe that there really was a future for her a future with Jax! "Actually, I'd like to go over and say hello to Lily. Do you mind?"

"Are you sure you want to do that? You have to know he's going to say something to you?" Jax asked.

"Yes, I want to." She put her hand on his chest as she looked up at him. "If you go with me, I think I can handle anything he has to say."

"In that case, let's go!" Jax said with a smile, as he held his free arm out in front of them to indicate he was ready when she was.

They made their way through the crowded dance floor and walked up to the table where Sonny and Lily were sitting, eating their dinner. "Hello, Lily," Brenda said softly. She turned her attention to Sonny. "Hello, Sonny. How are you?"

"Hello, Brenda, Mr. Jacks. How are you?" Lily asked nervously. She could see the shocked expression on Sonny's face. She knew her husband well enough to know that when he had that look on his face, anything could happen and usually did!

"I'm quite well, Lily - thanks for asking." Brenda smiled at Lily before turning her attention to Sonny. "You didn't answer my question, Sonny. How are you?" She knew she was challenging Sonny, but she didn't care. She wrapped her arm more tightly around Jax and was relieved to feel the gentle motion of his hand up and down her back. She felt herself standing up straighter and feeling stronger as she waited for his answer.

Unable to believe that she had actually had the nerve to challenge him, Sonny had not answered her question immediately. When he saw that she was not intimidated by his silence, he finally answered: "I'm great, babe. Married life is terrific! You should try it some time!" he said snidely, hoping that remark would inflict its usual amount of pain. He was startled when he saw absolutely no reaction from Brenda this time. When he saw her stand her ground, he decided to take one more shot. "Oh, I forgot. You aren't marriage material are you, babe? You're more the mistress type!" he said with a leer.

Jax could see that Sonny's remarks had not caused the reaction from Brenda that Sonny had expected, but they had definitely provoked him - especially the last one! As he started to say something, he felt Brenda gently raise her hand from around his waist and gently pat his lower back. When he looked down at her, he could see that she had control of the situation, so he just smiled at her and kept quiet.

Brenda looked over at Lily, whom she could see was totally embarrassed, before answering: "Oh, I don't know about that, Sonny. Maybe it's just a case of finding the right man at the right time that makes a woman marriage material. I'm sure Lily knows what I mean." Brenda looked kindly at Lily to let her know that remark was meant as a compliment, not an insult, before she continued: "Actually I've had a lot of time to think about my life since my accident, and I've come to some very important decisions." She looked up at Jax with a smile as she continued: "I realized that it's not what you have but who you're with that makes you happy. I have had more fun doing practically nothing in the last few weeks with someone I've only known for a short time than I can ever remember having in my entire adult life. I guess that only goes to show that when you find the right person, you know it and you enjoy your time with them to the fullest!" With that she gave Jax a squeeze to let him know she was ready to leave, and they walked away - leaving Sonny speechless and Lily smiling.

Lily had never before seen anyone put Sonny down so perfectly. She realized as she watched Brenda and Jax walk back toward their table that she had a whole new respect for Brenda. She really was becoming her own person, a person with a healthy relationship with a man who obviously cared a great deal about her. Now maybe Sonny would realize that Brenda was out of his life and start to pay attention to his life with her!

Lily's hopes were quickly dashed when she looked over at Sonny and saw the expression on his face as he watched Brenda and Jax walk back to their table and sit down. She reached over and rested her hand on top of his, which startled him and caused him to turn to look at her. "Can you believe the nerve of that broad?" he said. "Insulting you like that?"

Lily was stunned. "What do you mean insulting ME, Sonny? I didn't find anything she said insulting. In fact, I found it very comforting. She's obviously moving on with her life. She's not a threat to us anymore, Sonny. We are free to live our lives without interference!"

Sonny couldn't help but laugh. "You obviously didn't understand a thing she said!" he almost screamed. "All that talk about finding happiness with the right person and holding on to it was simply her way of telling you that she wants me back and intends to do whatever is necessary to achieve that!" When he saw the stunned expression on Lily's face, he leaned closer. "You didn't think she was talking about pretty boy, did you? She's obsessed with me, Lily! She's using him to try to make me jealous enough to leave you for her!"

"I think you're the one who's obsessed, Sonny," she said very quietly.

"What did you say?" Sonny asked, as he looked back over to where Jax and Brenda were sitting.

"Oh, nothing," Lily lied.

After Brenda's declaration to Sonny, she and Jax walked slowly back to their table. Jax had immediately noticed that the closer they got to their table, the tighter Brenda held on to him, even wrapping her other arm around the front of him. By the time they got to the table, he felt like if he let go she would fall to the floor. When they got to the table, he pulled out her chair with his free hand and helped her sit down. He walked quickly around to his chair and sat down. As soon as he was seated, he reached for her hand and held it in both of his. "Are you okay, luv? Your hand's as cold as ice!" He reached over for her other hand and started to rub both of her hands in an attempt to warm them.

Brenda sat staring at their joined hands for several moments before she answered. "I'm not really sure right now." She finally looked up into Jax's eyes and saw his concern for her. She didn't know why, but his unspoken concern for her seemed to give her strength. She took a deep breath before continuing. She pulled one of her hands from his. Looking back down at their hands she began to gently caress the top of his hand with her thumb. "I have a feeling I made a mistake by doing that," she said softly.

Jax was surprised by that comment. "Why would you think that, Brenda?" He suddenly felt his stomach twist into knots. "Unless you didn't really mean what you told him…" Jax's voice trailed off, as he realized he wasn't really sure he wanted to know the answer.

When she heard the uncertainty in Jax's voice, Brenda looked him straight in the eyes. She stopped stroking his hand and squeezed it tightly. "Of course I meant what I said, Jax! Every word! I would never have said any of that about you if I didn't mean it! I love spending time with you! I have ever since I met you!" She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing: "What I'm worried about is Sonny's reaction. Jax, people just don't do that to Sonny!"

"Do what? Tell him to leave you alone because you're not interested? Brenda, all you did was tell the man that you are moving forward with your life - with me!" Jax felt a great deal of peace by saying those words. For the first time in a long time, he felt himself looking to the future - a future he intended to share with Brenda, especially after what she had said tonight!

"That's what I'm worried about!" Brenda hoped she would be able to explain what was scaring her. "I'm scared, Jax; not for myself, but for you!" She smiled slightly at him. "You've become very important to me, and I can't imagine not having you in my future." She reached up to gently caress the side of his face.

Jax smiled as he put his hand on top of hers on his cheek. "You don't have to, Brenda. I'm not going anywhere."

She pulled her hand back from his face and sat back a little. "That's just it, Jax! YOU may not have a say!" She realized she had let her fear show in her voice, but she didn't care. "You saw Sonny's face! He HATES you! He blames you for taking me away from him! He's capable of doing just about anything to get what he wants!" She shuddered slightly as she remembered Sonny's face earlier. "When I saw that look on his face just now, I finally realized that what he wants is ME and you're in his way!"

When he saw how worried she was, Jax reached over to lift her chin so he could look into her eyes. "He can't have you, Brenda!" He could tell immediately that she had misunderstood his meaning. "Brenda, you don't belong to Sonny! You don't belong to anyone but yourself!" Jax could see her immediately begin to relax. He let go of her chin and took her hand in both of his before continuing: "The only person you need to answer to is Brenda Barrett! You've grown so much stronger in the last few months - probably more than even you realize!" He smiled at her and rubbed his thumb across the top of her hand.

"If I have, Jax, it's because of you." She could tell he wanted to disagree with her, so she started talking again to prevent it. "I know you didn't 'fix' things for me, even though you probably wanted to and probably could have. You did something much more important - you let me fix them for myself." She smiled at him briefly before continuing: "I've never known anyone like you, Jax. You could have walked away a dozen times over, but you didn't - you stayed! You stayed and you helped me help myself. You will never know how much it means to me that you had so much faith in me!"

Jax was pretty sure he knew what she wanted to say to him, and he couldn't help feeling that this was not the place to discuss such a private topic - especially with Sonny Corrinthos staring at them! He rubbed his thumb across her hand again. "What do you say we move this discussion to a more private place?" Jax nodded toward Sonny when he finished his question.

When Brenda realized what Jax meant, she nodded her agreement. "I think that's a very good idea. Why don't we go back to my room at Kelly's? It's not far and…" She winked at him with a big smile. "Now that 'someone' installed all those new locks on the doors, the place is as safe and as private as Fort Knox!"

Jax couldn't resist laughing out loud as he signaled for their server. Instead of the server, Mike came over to the table. He had been watching everything that had gone on between Brenda and Sonny, and he was worried about her. "Is anything wrong, Brenda? Do you guys need anything?" He put his hand gently on Brenda's shoulder. When she looked up at him, he was surprised to see the smile on her face. He had expected to see fear, which was the usual expression on her face after a run-in with Sonny.

"Nothing's wrong, Mike. We just need the check. Brenda and I have decided to call it a night," Jax said, with a wink to Brenda that caused her to chuckle.

"There is no check, Jax. This evening is my treat!" Mike declared, as he signaled for their server. When she got to the table Mike looked over at her. "Tess, would you get the check ready for this table?" When she nodded and turned to go Mike touched her arm. She turned back to him. "These people are my guests tonight so when it's ready, bring the check to me." Tess nodded her understanding and headed back into the kitchen to prepare the check.

"Mike - no, this evening was supposed to be my treat for Jax!" She looked nervously over at Sonny for a moment before looking up at Mike. "Besides, you know Sonny isn't going to like you doing this one little bit!"

The look of concern in Brenda's eyes was more than Mike had ever expected. After the horrible way Sonny had treated her, Mike had expected because he was Sonny's father that Brenda would have hated him for the rest of her life. Instead, she was worried about him. Mike smiled, first at Brenda, and then at Jax. He knew that Brenda would never have been able to reach this point in her life if it hadn't been for Jax's support. He also knew that no matter what the future held for any of them, he would always feel a debt to this man who had helped Brenda pick up the pieces of her life - a life that had been shattered by his son! "I don't think that will be a problem, dear. All he cares about is his share of the profits!" He looked directly at Brenda. "Please, let me do this for the two of you!"

Brenda looked over at Jax, who nodded his head slightly. "Okay, Mike, as long as you're sure you won't get into any trouble for doing it." She looked expectantly up at Mike to make sure he would be okay.

"I appreciate your concern for me, Brenda, but I'll be fine - REALLY!" Just then Tess came back with the check. She handed it to Mike, who put it in his jacket pocket. "Tess, would you please get Ms. Barrett's coat for her?" He handed the girl the claim ticket for the coat as well as a tip for the attendant. When Tess returned with the coat, Brenda and Jax stood up, and Mike helped her with her coat, before leaning down to kiss her softly on the cheek. "Thank you," he said very softly.

Brenda was confused. "For what? I didn't do anything?"

Mike smiled. "Oh, you did more for me tonight than you can ever know." He could still see the confusion in her eyes. "Brenda, after what Michael has done to you, I expected you to hate me, because I'm his father! But you don't. You're still willing to let me be a part of your life!" Mike looked down for a moment. "You know, I have always thought of you as a daughter, and it really warms my heart to see you so happy." He looked over at Jax and smiled, "Both of you! Jax, I know you don't know me, and if you want to tell me to butt out, I'll understand, but I just wanted to thank you for what you've done for her. I've never seen her this content or this happy, so whatever it is you're doing, please keep doing it!" He extended his hand to Jax, who took it immediately. "If you ever need anything, PLEASE feel free to call me. Brenda has my number."

"Thanks, Mike, but I haven't done anything for Brenda except let her be herself." Jax looked over at Brenda with a smile. "She's the one who did all the work. I just stood on the sidelines."

"Somehow I doubt that, Jax, but if that's how you see it, I'll accept that." He glanced quickly over toward Sonny and saw him start to get up from his seat. "Say, why don't the two of you get going and enjoy the rest of your evening?" He gave them both a gentle shove toward the door. "I'm sure you have better things to do than stand around talking to me all night!" He was relieved when, after a chuckle, they both started moving toward the door without any further argument. When they were almost at the door, Mike glanced back and saw Sonny coming toward them. He hoped he could get Jax and Brenda out the door before he caught up to them.

Unfortunately, Jax and Brenda stopped to talk to someone at the door, which gave Sonny a chance to catch up with them. "You're not going anywhere! I'm not finished with the two of you!" he said, as he signaled for his men to prevent Jax and Brenda from leaving. Sonny walked up close to Brenda and turned her face toward him. "You disappoint me, Brenda. I mean, I can understand that 'Pretty Boy' here doesn't know the rules, but you, Brenda, you know the rules. What's mine is mine, until I say differently!" He smiled snidely as he ran his finger up and down the side of her cheek, causing her to shudder. "Come on, babe, you can stop playing this game. You and I both know you still belong to me, so just admit it and send pretty boy here on his way, so we can get back to the way things were before…"

Brenda had enough of this! She pulled away from Sonny and wrapped her arm tightly around Jax. "Before what, Sonny? Before you got married? Or maybe we can go back to where you got such pleasure out of humiliating me in public?" She planted her feet firmly and poked him in the chest. "This time you hear me, Sonny! I am NOT your property! I never was your property! I am my own person, capable of making my own choices, and I choose to walk away from you!" She looked up at Jax. "I'm ready to go. How about you?"

When he saw the tremendous fear in her eyes, Jax realized this had all been for show; she was terrified! He pulled her closer to him and smiled. "Absolutely! Let's go!"

Jax and Brenda turned their backs to Sonny intent on heading out the door, but Sonny's men blocked it. Jax looked directly into the eyes of the man standing in front of him, as he continued to hold Brenda close. "Tell him to move, Corinthos! Unless, of course, you want this club named in a very public lawsuit - not to mention the criminal charges I will file against you and your 'employee' for detaining us against our wills."

When Brenda looked up and saw the look in his eyes, it sent a chill down her spine. She had never seen anything like it. Jax's usually beautiful blue-green eyes had turned the color of cold, blue steel!

"Frances, let them go" said a voice behind Sonny. Everyone turned. Lily was standing a few feet behind Sonny, obviously having heard the entire conversation. "You heard me, Frances - let them go!" When the man seemed unsure what to do, Lily raised her voice a little more. "Frances, you work for my father. He sent you here to take care of me, which means you take your orders from me, not my husband! I'M telling you to let them go - NOW!"

When he saw the look on Lily's face the man slowly stepped aside, allowing Jax and Brenda free access to the door.

As Jax opened the door, Brenda turned to Lily. "Thank you," she said softly. She glanced over at Mike and smiled, before directing her full attention back on Sonny. "This is the end, Sonny! I don't want you anywhere near Jax or me ever again! You have a wife now - build your future with her!" Brenda looked over at Lily with a smile. "You know, if you give her a chance, you'll find that she's quite a special person." With that she turned back to Jax, and the two of them walked out the door without looking back at the people left behind.

As the door closed behind them Brenda collapsed against Jax. He could feel her trembling, so he stopped and wrapped her tightly in his arms. They stood there for several moments without saying a word until Jax could feel Brenda's trembling start to subside. He gently stroked her hair for a while until she looked up at him again. "Are you okay, luv?" he asked.

Brenda looked up at him with an attempt at a smile. "I think so. I can't believe I did that! He just got me so mad with all that big talk about me belonging to him!" She could feel herself getting angry again. "Can we just get out of here, Jax? I'm beginning to think you were right about coming here. I should never have insisted!"

Jax gently ran his thumb across her cheek as he smiled. "Are you kidding? This is exactly what you needed, Brenda! You had the courage to stand up for yourself in front of a room full of people! Don't you understand what that means?" He could see that she didn't. "He couldn't humiliate you tonight because you wouldn't let him! He saw that, and more importantly Lily saw that! She now knows that you are not the one causing trouble in her marriage - Sonny is!" Jax could see that she understood what he was trying to tell her.

"What do you say we go back to Kelly's? As I recall there was something we wanted to talk about in private wasn't there?" he asked with a smile and a wink.

Brenda returned his smile. "I think you're right." She rested her head against his chest as they walked the rest of the way to his car. Brenda had taken a cab over to the club since there was really no need for two cars.

Once Jax and Brenda were gone, Sonny stood staring at the closed door. He could not figure out what had gotten into her. Before he had a chance to think any more about Brenda, he remembered Lily was standing right behind him. He turned slowly to face her, trying desperately to think of a way to explain what had just happened. When he saw the look on her face, he knew there would be no explaining. She knew exactly what had happened! Sonny decided his best option was to act as if nothing had happened and go back to their dinner. "Okay, show's over. Let's go enjoy the rest of our evening." He was surprised when Lily didn't move. "Didn't you hear me? I said we're going back to the table."

With tears forming in her eyes, Lily looked over at Mike. "Mike, would you get my coat for me please? I'm going home." Mike gently squeezed her arm before walking over to get her coat.

"What do you mean, you're going home? I said we're going back to the table to finish our dinner!" Sonny looked sternly at Lily. He was not surprised when he saw the hurt in her eyes. He knew he would have to make this incident up to her. What did surprise him though was the growing coldness he saw rapidly replacing the hurt. He smiled and reached for her arm. "Come on, Lily. Lets not let that bimbo and her boy toy ruin our evening!"

Lily pulled her arm back out of his reach. She leveled her angry gaze directly at him. "She's not a bimbo, Sonny. She's actually a very nice person, with a lot of character." She paused for a moment, "In fact, if it wasn't for YOU harassing her, I think she and I could be very good friends!" Lily could feel her courage building as she continued: "While we're on the subject of Brenda, I have to tell you, Sonny, I really like her friend Mr. Jacks. It's obvious how much he cares for her by the way he has put up with YOU!"

Before Sonny had a chance to say anything, Mike returned with Lily's coat. As he was helping her put it on, she turned to Sonny. "I'm having Frances take me back to the penthouse." When she saw Sonny start to say something she held up her hand to stop him. "I'm going to pack some things, and then I'm going to visit my father for a while! I already called him from the table when you left me alone, so there is a plane waiting for me at the airport." She gave Mike a warm hug. "Thanks for everything, Mike. I'll be in touch soon." With that she turned toward the door and signaled for Frances to open it. When he did, Lily walked right out without another word to Sonny.

It didn't take long for Jax and Brenda to drive back to Kelly's. Neither one of them said anything during the ride. Once he parked the car, Jax got out quickly to open the door for Brenda. As they walked toward the door Brenda unconsciously reached for Jax's hand, locking her fingers with his as they walked. When he felt her squeeze his hand, he looked down at her with a smile. When they reached the door, Jax opened it without letting go of her hand.

Ruby looked up from what she was doing when she heard them come through the door. "Hello, you two. Did you have a nice evening?" she asked.

Brenda looked up at Jax, who winked at her with a smile. "I don't think you could call it nice, Ruby," she said. "I think 'interesting' would be a better word for it! Don't you agree, Jax?" Brenda looked up at Jax and returned his wink.

"I'd say so!" Jax said with a chuckle.

"Can I get you two anything?" Ruby asked. She could tell something had happened tonight that neither Jax nor Brenda wanted to talk about, so she let it drop. It wasn't anything Brenda had said - more what she hadn't said!

"No thanks, Ruby. We're going to go up to my room for a while." Brenda reached for Jax's hand, "Ready?" she asked.

"Lead the way, Ms. Barrett," Jax said with a smile, as he followed her up the stairs. When they got to her door, Brenda handed Jax the keys. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, waiting until she was in to follow her in.

As she walked through the door, Brenda reached over to flip on the lights as Jax closed the door and set her keys on the edge of her dresser. When he looked up he saw Brenda standing by the window, staring out into the night. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, which caused her to jump. "I'm sorry luv, I didn't mean to startle you" he said softly. He started to pull back until he felt her hands grip his arms.

"Please! Don't let go! I love feeling your arms around me!" Brenda leaned back against his chest, closing her eyes as she wrapped her arms across his. They stood like this for several moments without saying anything. Finally Brenda broke the silence. "Ummm, this feels so good. I could really get used to this, you know," she said with a sigh.

"Glad to hear that because I have no intention of letting you go!" Jax tightened his hold on her as he rested his cheek on top of her head. They again stood silently for a long time before Jax leaned down to kiss her cheek. As he did, Brenda reached up to caress his cheek. He kissed her several more times before pulling back and again resting his cheek on top of her head, this time with his eyes closed. "I have to thank you for a perfect evening, luv," Jax said with a trace of a sigh as he continued to hold her.

Brenda reluctantly pulled out of his embrace and turned to face him. "How can you say that, Jax? Sonny ruined everything with his stunt!" She could feel the tears start to roll down her cheeks. "He humiliated us in front of EVERYONE!" She quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks as she looked downward, unable to face him.

Jax lifted her chin with the side of his finger. When he saw a few stray tears still on her cheeks, he brought both thumbs up to brush them away. He continued to hold her face in both of his hands as he smiled down at her. He bent slightly and kissed the tip of her nose before saying anything. "You silly!" he said gently. "You really don't understand what happened tonight, do you? WE weren't the ones humiliated tonight Brenda! SONNY was - by you!" He wanted to laugh when he saw the shocked expression on her face, but he knew Brenda would not understand if he did. Instead he continued to explain: "When you stood up to him after he told you that you were his property, you made it clear to ANYONE who was watching that you were no longer his possession! You are now your own person, Brenda, able to stand on your own two feet!"

Brenda reached up and pulled Jax's hands from her face, holding them in hers. "That's just it, Jax. I didn't stand on my own! I had you there to lean on! If you hadn't been there I never would have been able to say those things!" Brenda started to cry again. "Jax, I'm not as strong as you think! I don't know if I'll ever be able to face him without you!"

Jax could see Brenda's insecurities returning. He gently ran his hands up and down her arms in an attempt to calm her. "Brenda, listen to me," he said gently. "I'm not the one who stood up to Sonny - you are! I just stood there with my arm around you - you did all the work!" He let go of her and started to slowly pace around the room, finally coming to a stop at the foot of the bed. "You are much stronger than you give yourself credit for, luv." When he saw her try to disagree, he walked back to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I don't know why you can't see that. I see it every time I look at you! And so does everyone else!" He smiled reassuringly at her.

Brenda couldn't help smiling back, as she reached up and put her hand on his forearm. "Don't ever stop telling me that! Maybe one of these days I'll believe it!" She stood up on her toes and kissed him softly on the lips. What she had originally intended when she kissed him, neither Jax nor Brenda knew because one gentle kiss led to another and another, each more passionate than the one before. Soon Jax and Brenda were both caught up in their own passion and desire.

Eventually Jax pulled back from the kiss to breathe. As he stood staring into her eyes he could see that her desire for him was as intense as his was for her. Desire wasn't the only thing he saw in her eyes though. There was uncertainty - a lot of it! He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Brenda could see Jax's concern for her in his eyes. She suddenly realized that she found a great deal of strength in that concern. She wanted to be honest with him about how she felt. When she looked into his eyes she knew immediately that she could be - she could tell him anything and he would listen! "I honestly don't know, Jax." She walked over to stand by the windows again, staring into the night, looking for answers. With her back to him she continued: "Kissing you just now was wonderful. If felt so natural - so right!"

"It was the same for me, luv. So what's wrong?" Jax knew he must have sounded confused but he couldn't help it.

"That's exactly what's wrong, Jax! I'm not sure I can do this! I don't know if I can let you get that close to me!" She turned back to face him. When she thought she saw a trace of hurt in his eyes, she spoke up again quickly. "I WANT to let you in, Jax! God, how I want to let you in! I'm just not sure I can believe you aren't going to just up and leave me one of these days! Or that you aren't going to turn on me!"

Jax walked over to her and took her face in his hands. He leaned forward and kissed her with a great deal of passion. When he pulled back from the kiss, he gently stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "I'm not going anywhere, Brenda. You can trust that" he said softly. He leaned in to kiss her again. When he did, she eagerly responded. As the kisses continued, he slowly moved his hands from her face to wrap his arms tightly around her. Their kisses began to intensify as he teased at her lips with the tip of his tongue. She slowly opened up to him. As they became more comfortable with their actions, they each became more aggressive with the other.

As they continued to intensify their kisses, Brenda slowly brought her arms up around his neck. She began to run her fingers up through the hair on the back of his head, as she tried to pull him even closed to her. She pressed her entire body tightly up against his as she began to give in to her desire for him.

It was Jax who finally pulled away. When he looked into her eyes, he could see they were glazed over with her desire for him. He also realized that tonight was not the night for this. After everything that had happened with Sonny tonight he knew they were moving too quickly; she was not ready for this! "I think I'd better go," he said with a sigh.

"WHY?" Brenda was shocked at his words. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked, suddenly afraid that Jax had changed his mind. "Don't you want me?" she asked softly, as she looked away from him in embarrassment.

Jax couldn't help smiling at her as he took her face in his hands. "Of course I want you, Brenda! I want you more than I have ever wanted anyone!" He could see the fear in her eyes as he spoke.

"I don't understand then. Why do you want to leave?" Brenda could feel tears of fear and frustration in her eyes.

"Because you're not ready, Brenda!" Jax said softly. He gently rubbed his thumbs across her cheeks as he leaned in to kiss her again. "Believe me, luv, I don't WANT to leave - but I also don't want you to regret in the morning anything we do tonight." He could see she didn't understand what he was trying to say. He continued to stroke her face. "When we make love for the first time - and I'm more certain than ever that we will - I want you to come to me willingly. Because you want to be with me - not because you are reeling from a confrontation with Sonny!"

Brenda immediately understood what he was trying to say. She also realized that he was right. She brought her hands up to take his hands from her face and hold them tightly in her own. She stared at their joined hands for a moment before slowly looking up into his eyes. She smiled meekly at him. "How did you get so wise?" she asked.

Jax easily returned her smile, relieved that she had understood what he had told her. "I'm not wise, Brenda. I've just gotten pretty good at reading you." He kissed her on the forehead. "I better go," he said again. This time he saw Brenda's smile grow a little as she nodded her agreement. As they walked to the door they continued to hold hands.

When they got to the door, Jax opened it before turning back to her. He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. "Want to have breakfast with me tomorrow? I promise, no yogurt!" he chuckled as Brenda scrunched up her face for a moment before nodding yes. "Good. How about if I meet you downstairs about 9:30?" he asked.

"Sounds good to me" Brenda smiled at him. As Jax released her and started to turn to leave, Brenda put her hand on his arm, causing him to look back. "Thank you for understanding about tonight, Jax - even if I didn't!"

He smiled at her and kissed her quickly on the lips. "You're welcome," he said. "I'll see you in the morning." He kissed her again and turned to leave.

Brenda stood in the doorway and watched until Jax started down the stairs before she slowly closed the door. She walked over to the window to watch him walk toward his car. As she watched him, she gently ran her fingers across her lips, which were still slightly swollen from their passionate kisses. It wasn't until she had watched his car drive away that she finally turned away. When she glanced at her reflection in the mirror she was surprised to see that with all that had gone on tonight, she had not even removed her coat! She couldn't help smiling as she slowly took the coat off and started thinking back to what had gone on between her and Jax.

9:25 A.M.

Jax's day had not started out very well. He had been awakened at 5:30 by a phone call from one of the negotiators handling a takeover he was trying to pull off in Thailand. As the early morning hours had passed, it became obvious to him that if he was going to salvage the deal, he was going to have to go to Thailand himself and take control. As he sat in Kelly's sipping his coffee and waiting for Brenda, he realized that for the first time in a very long time he really was not looking forward to closing a deal. There was now something more important to him than making the deal - Brenda! Despite what he had told her last night about her being strong enough to stand up to Sonny with or without him, now that it looked like he was going to have to leave her for a while, he wasn't so sure of that statement!

He had been so deep in thought about Brenda that he had not seen Lucy come in until she was standing in front of him. "I'm so glad I found you, Jax. I was really hoping I would, you know! Actually I kind of figured you'd be here because Brenda lives here and every time I see you lately you're with her or you've just left her, so it's really not that strange to find you here!"

"Lucy, STOP!" Jax declared. "You found me! So what did you want?" He pointed to the chair next to him. "Why don't you sit down and take a breath? I'm waiting to have breakfast with Brenda, so we've got a few minutes to talk." He looked her full in the face. "I take it this is important, so what is it?"

"Good!" Lucy said as she sat down. "I wanted to let you know what I decided about your offer before I change my mind again!"

Jax suddenly got the feeling that things were about to start looking up for him. He leaned back in his chair, resting his elbows on the arms and tenting his fingers in front of his chin. "Okay, Lucy, in twenty words or less, what have you decided?" he asked, trying not to smile.

Lucy looked slightly hurt by Jax's words. "Of course, Jax," she said almost sadly. She took a deep breath, letting it out dramatically. "I've decided to accept your offer of Jacks Cosmetics in exchange for my 10.3% share of ELQ!" Lucy looked at him and finally smiled. "There! I said it!" She suddenly got very serious. "PLEASE tell me I haven't made a horrible mistake, Jax! PLEASE!"

"You haven't, Lucy. I promise you!" Jax leaned forward and extended his hand to her. As they shook hands, his smile quickly disappeared as he glanced up and saw Brenda coming down the stairs. "There is one condition to this deal, Lucy: you cannot tell anyone about it - not even Brenda - until everything is signed and recorded."

"I don't understand why, but sure, I won't say anything until you give me the okay." Lucy finished talking just as Brenda walked up to the table. "Hello, Brenda," she said. The smile quickly disappeared from her face when she saw the miserable expression on Brenda's. "What's wrong?"

Jax had also noticed how miserable Brenda looked. "What is it, luv?" Has something happened? Has Sonny done something?" Jax stood up and kissed her forehead as he pulled out a chair for her.

Brenda smiled meekly at Jax as they sat back down and she reached over to hold onto his hand. "It's nothing like that, Jax." She took a slow, deep breath before looking over at Lucy. "Actually it's worse than Sonny! It's Katherine Bell!"

"Katherine? What has she done?" Lucy demanded.

"Well, it seems she's had her lawyers going over my contract with Deception, and they told her that she can force me to negotiate with her in good faith about a new contract up until the point where this contract expires!" Brenda could tell by the expression on Lucy's face that she had known about this clause. "She can also force me to work for her until midnight of the day my contract expires! I just got off the phone with her. She's insisting that I open negotiations for a new contract immediately and that I allow her the opportunity to match or beat any other offer I might receive!" She looked over at Jax for a moment before looking back to Lucy. "She's also insisting that I begin work on the summer campaign immediately! She's planning to start the photo shoot tomorrow!"

"How can she start a photo shoot? She's only had the company for a couple of weeks! Even 'Kathy' isn't dumb enough to try to put together a major national campaign in that…" Lucy looked from Brenda to Jax and then back to Brenda as she realized what was happening.

Brenda slowly nodded her head. "Yep, she's planning to use the campaign YOU put together!" Both Brenda and Lucy looked at Jax. "Can she do this, Jax? Can she force me to negotiate a new contract with her even if I don't want to and then make me work out every day of my current one? More importantly, can she actually use Lucy's hard work after she fired her?"

Jax had to smile for a moment as he saw the expressions on their faces. "I'm afraid she can, luv." He saw the disappointment on their faces. "I think I can be of some help to you though, luv." He picked up his cell phone from the table and made a call. "Hello, Ben? Jax here. I'm fine, thanks. Look, I need a favor from you. I have a friend who needs some contract help." Jax chuckled as he listened to the person on the other end of the call. "No, I'm serious. She's a friend of mine, who's a model, and her current employer is giving her a hard time about negotiating a new contract. What? No, actually she doesn't want to re-sign. The company was recently sold and there is a definite personality dispute between the new owner and my friend. The new owner is demanding that she negotiate in good faith, and my friend does not want to remain with the company." Jax listened for several moments. "Right, she's got a verbal offer from another company stating that they are willing to beat any offer by 15%." He winked at Brenda. "What I need you to do is represent her in the negotiations. Drag them out until her current contract expires, so she'll be free to sign with the new company. Can you do that for me?" He was silent as the other party was obviously talking. He smiled broadly and winked at Brenda. "Great! I appreciate this. My friend's name is Brenda Barrett. What? Yes, that's her, the Face of Deception. How soon can you fly up here? We're in Port Charles." Again Jax waited. "Great! I'll have Addie call you in a little while with all the details. I'll also have her get a copy of Brenda's contract for you to go over. Oh, by the way, the new owner of Deception is a woman by the name of Katherine Bell. What? Yep, old Eddie Q sold the company to her a few weeks ago. Thanks again, Ben. I'll talk to you soon."

Jax closed the phone and looked over to Brenda. "Ben is a friend of mine, who owes me a favor. He's the best contract lawyer I know in New York City. I'll make sure Addie gives him your phone number so you can set up a meeting with him and let him know how you want to proceed with this. In the meantime he'll notify Katherine that he will be representing you in your contract negotiations. If she has any contacts in the business world she'll soon find out who she's dealing with! Okay?"

Brenda couldn't help smiling at him. "Thanks, but what about Lucy? Can he help her too?"

Jax got serious again. "I'd have to see your original contract with ELQ to be sure, Lucy, but my guess is that if you had the campaign finished and things were in motion to begin prep or production of the ads, it is now the real property of Deception Fragrances. When Edward sold Deception to Katherine, he would also have sold her any and all work product currently available - which means that the summer ad campaign is Katherine's to use if she wants." He looked straight at Lucy. "I'm sorry, luv, but I don't think there is anything you can do to stop her." He smiled again. "Besides, you're going to be too busy getting a fall campaign ready for Jacks Cosmetics to worry about that. Right?" He winked at Lucy before giving her a slight nod of his head to let her know he wanted to be alone with Brenda.

"You're right, Jax. Why should I care what she does with Deception? I've got more important things to worry about!" She looked over at Brenda as she got up. "You guys have a great breakfast!" As she stood next to Jax, she put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll wait to hear from you about what we were discussing earlier." She smiled down at him.

"Thanks. Oh, by the way, I'm having the people at Jacks Cosmetics get in touch with you sometime today. I've informed them that you are taking over control of the company for me, so they'll be sending you all the current financial reports, not to mention setting up meetings for campaign planning. Let me know if you need anything from me." Jax put his hand up on top of hers and squeezed it. Lucy smiled down at him before she let go of his shoulder and walked away.

Once Lucy was gone Jax turned his attention back to Brenda. "How did you sleep last night?" he asked seriously.

Brenda slowly shook her head as she smiled at him. "I slept great. I have to admit I was expecting to have nightmares after that run-in with Sonny, but nothing!" Her smile broadened as she winked at him. "Maybe it had something to do with the company I kept for the rest of the evening."

Jax smiled back at her and reached to caress her cheek. "You know, you just might have something there." He leaned over and kissed her just as the waitress came over to take their order. He pulled back from the kiss and they both laughed when they saw her standing there, looking slightly embarrassed.

Just as they finished giving their orders, Jax's cell phone rang. He took the call without hesitation or attempting to hide his conversation from Brenda, which surprised her. He seemed to have no problem discussing confidential business matters right in front of her. She could see that he was guarding his conversation from others in the room, but he had no qualms about discussing things in front of her. She could not understand why his doing that meant so much to her, until she realized that he trusted her to keep his confidence. She sat back in her chair and just watched him as he talked, her mind drifting back to their kisses last night and what he had said about her coming to him when she was ready. She realized that he had just proven to her that she could trust what he said about him not leaving her. Maybe he was right about them really having a future…

"I'm sorry about that, luv, but I've got a deal that is starting to fall apart so I'm afraid this is going to happen a lot today." Jax smiled over at her as he apologized. He was surprised at the far-off expression on her face. "Brenda? Is something wrong?"

She smiled at him as she sat forward again. "Nothing's wrong, Jax. In fact things are suddenly very right." She reached over for his hand and squeezed it just as the phone rang again, causing both of them to laugh.

During the time they were eating their breakfast, Jax had been forced to deal with another five phone calls. Each time the phone rang he spoke openly in front of Brenda, reinforcing her confidence in him. She could also tell after each call that things were not going well with his deal. Finally, after the waitress had removed their dishes and they were sitting drinking their coffee, she reached over and put her hand on his forearm. "Want to tell me what's wrong? I can tell from your side of the conversation that you've got a deal that's not going well."

Jax smiled at her as he put his hand on top of hers. "You're right about that. I'm trying to take over a multi-national corporation that is based in Thailand and things are not going well." He could see that she was interested in what he was telling her. "Would you like to see the prospectus on the deal?"

She was startled by his question. "You'd do that? Let me see your plans? Why?"

"That's easy, Brenda: I trust you. I know you won't betray my confidence." Jax could tell by looking in her eyes how much that had meant to her. Just then his phone rang again. "DAMN!" he said, as he sat back and answered the phone. It took him almost ten minutes to finish the call, and as he closed the phone he was convinced that he had no choice but to take over the negotiations himself. As he looked over at Brenda, he felt his stomach lurch at the idea of leaving her… Worse yet, of having to tell her he was leaving.

"Are you finished?" he asked. "How about we go for a walk?" he asked, when he saw her nod her head.

"Sure," Brenda answered as she got up, "Just let me go get a coat."

Jax reached over and put his hand on her arm. "I don't think you'll need one. It was really nice when I walked over earlier." He looked at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "Besides, if you get cold I'm sure I can think of 'something' to keep you warm!" He smiled when he saw her start to blush.

They walked for a long time without talking about anything in particular. Finally, when they reached a small park just past the end of the docks, they sat down on one of the benches. As if by instinct, Jax wrapped his arm around Brenda's shoulders and she snuggled close to him. They sat silently for several minutes before Brenda looked up at him. She saw him staring off into the distance and knew immediately what was bothering him. "You need to go to Thailand, don't you, Jax?" she asked quietly.

Jax looked into her eyes. "I'm afraid so. If there is any chance of saving this deal, I'm going to have to take over the negotiations." He pulled her closer to him as he looked off into the distance again before he rested his cheek on top of her head. "You have to believe that I really don't want to go, Brenda!"

Before he could say anything else, Brenda pulled slightly away from him and placed her finger on his lips to silence him. "I know that, Jax, but this is your work. You can't let a lucrative deal like this fall apart because you're worried about me. I'll be fine - as long as you promise to come back as soon as you can!" She snuggled back against his shoulder with a sigh when she finished.

This time it was Jax who sat back. In fact, he pulled back from her completely and turned her to face him, still holding her by the sides of her arms. He leaned forward and kissed her very passionately. "Marry me, Brenda" he said very calmly, before leaning forward and kissing her several more times.

Brenda pulled back from him. "What did you just say? Did you just ask me to MARRY you?" she asked with a look of shock on her face.

"You heard me correctly. I asked you to marry me." Jax got up and started pacing in front of her several times before sitting back down next to her. He turned her face toward his before he said anything else. "Think about it, Brenda! How do you feel when we're together?" He looked at her expectantly as he waited for her answer.

"I feel terrific, I feel happy, and most importantly, I feel safe when we're together, Jax!" she admitted, but before she could finish her thought, he spoke up again.

"And how do you feel when we're not together?" He again waited for her to answer.

"I miss you - a lot! But, Jax - that's no reason to marry you! Doesn't it matter to you that I'm afraid to let you get close to me? That I keep pulling back from you when things get… heavy? Or that I still become a basket case every time Sonny pushes my buttons?"

Jax smiled at her. "Actually, no, it doesn't." He smiled at the startled expression on her face. "Listen, Brenda, I know we have a lot of things to work out between us, but I want you to think about something. I want you to think about what you felt like when we were in your room last night. Then imagine what it would be like if we hadn't stopped. Imagine how you would feel if it could be like that all the time!" He could see that she was thinking about his words.

"Listen, you know I have to go to Thailand to salvage this deal. It'll probably take me about two weeks to get this all resolved. I want you to take that time to think about this. When I get back, I want you to give me your answer. If the answer is no, then we'll keep things exactly as they are now - at least for a little while. If your answer is yes, I promise you that you will never regret it!" He leaned forward and kissed her several times before pulling back.

"Come on. I'll walk you back to Kelly's," he said as he got up and extended his hand to her to help her up.

When they got back to Kelly's, he stopped just before they got to the front walk and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her several times before he said anything. He gently held her face close to his with both of his hands. "Two weeks, Brenda! The clock is ticking." He kissed her again before he let go of her and just walked away leaving her standing staring after him, totally confused by everything that had just happened. She didn't know what to make of this man. As she turned to walk the rest of the way into Kelly's there was one thing she WAS certain about. She was not about to let him go. He meant too much to her to risk that! What she needed to figure out now was just how much DID he mean to her. She slowly walked into Kelly's and up the stairs to her room. She had a lot to think about over the next two weeks. One good thing, at least she wouldn't have time to miss him. Between being blindsided by his question and meeting with that lawyer he was sending to help her with Katherine, Brenda knew she was not going to have much time to think about anything else - like missing him!!