"I asked you to marry me, Brenda." He kept hold of her hands and pulled her against his chest. "You know, the whole ball of wax – love, honor…….." He paused momentarily. {If you say "obey," you’re going to be back at square 1 and she’ll never speak to you again.} Jax smiled and continued. "…….and cherish, till death do us part."

Brenda narrowed an eye, realizing what had caused him to pause. "That was very "type B hero" of you, Jax, leaving out the "O" word."

"Thank you!" Jax smiled smugly. "Actually, I thought it was rather "type-A-hero" of me, to propose like this in the middle of the airport! Don’t you think so?"

"Probably." Then Brenda made a face resembling the one she always made when taking a dose of Milk of Magnesia. "But marry you? Are you serious?"

Jax ignored her slightly-nauseated appearance. "Of course I’m serious, Brenda!"

Brenda pulled away from him a little to look suspiciously into his eyes. "OK, now I know you’re not going to like this, but now it’s MY turn to play doctor and YOUR turn to play patient." She placed a flat hand to his forehead. "Are you feeling feverish? Dizzy? Any symptoms of a head injury?"

Jax glanced around him at the other travelers who had begun to stare and whisper about them. He took Brenda by the shoulder and steered her back towards the main terminal. "Brenda, why are you avoiding my question? I can’t think of any two people who belong together MORE than you and I! We’re perfect together!"

"We’re complete opposites!!"

"And don’t they always say "opposites attract"?" Jax put one arm around Brenda’s shoulder and tried to hold her tightly as they maneuvered through the crowds. "I just don’t understand this, Brenda. Why do you look like I’ve just asked you to jump off the top of the Empire State Building or something?"

"Because this is CRAZY, Jax!" she argued, trying to keep her voice down. "We’ve only known each other for a few months….."

"But where does it say that you have to know another person for a certain length of time before you marry them? What more do we need to know about each other?" Jax stopped abruptly, and then pulled Brenda towards an empty bench at the side of the concourse. He put his hands on her shoulders to force her to sit and then took a place next to her. "I enjoy being with you, Brenda. When I make love to you, it feels like …….well, I’ve never felt anything so right before in my life. And you get along great with my colleagues, and my kids adore you…….."

{Ohhhhhh, boy …… there we go. I’m Maria Von Trapp and Mary Poppins all rolled into one. Well, if he thinks that I’m going to take those kids out to some grassy knoll outside the city and teach ‘em how to read music, he’s whistling Dixie…..}

Jax suddenly clasped Brenda’s hands, drawing her back to reality. "Brenda, we can have a good life together." A proud smile teased at the corners of his mouth. "I’ve made some prudent investments in the past, and my broker says I’ll be able to live comfortably, even when I retire. Even with the child support, what I make at Cedars is *more* than enough to support the two of us, or any other little Jacks’s that might come along….."

{Awwww, geez……it’s only getting worse. I swear, if he tells me I’ll be able to quit my job so I can enjoy being pregnant, I’ll have to hurt him…..}

"Brenda?" Jax took her chin between his fingers and turned her face to meet his gaze. "Have you been listening to anything I’ve been saying?"

"Ohhhhhh, yeah," she drawled. "More than you’ll ever know, Jax."

He squirmed anxiously on the bench. "Then what do you think, huh? What’s your answer?"

She took a deep breath and then cupped the side of his face with a smile. "My answer is…….that I have to think about it," she gushed, her words tumbling over each other like leaves in a storm. She rose from the bench and started walking back towards the terminal so quickly he was almost left behind in her wake.

Finally, Jax jumped to his feet and followed her. "Think about it?" He struggled to keep pace as Brenda’s feet beat a quick rhythm on the "people mover." "What’s to think about? We’re perfect for each other – we belong together!"

Brenda stepped off the moving panel in the floor. She started walking again with Jax hovering over and beside her. "Jax, you have to understand, this is a BIG decision for me!" She finally stopped and looked into his pained eyes. "I’ve never made this kind of commitment before, and frankly, I’m a little scared about it!"

Jax’s eyes widened and he straightened a little. "Ohhhhh, I get it. You think that because I was married once before, I just jump into these things without thinking." He cupped her face in his hands. "Well, I don’t NEED to think much about this to know it’s the right thing, Brenda." Then he sighed. "But I suppose that if you need time……."

Brenda smiled and wrapped her hands around his. "Thank you for understanding."

His smile lasted about ten seconds and then his eyebrows drew together in the center. "How much time?"

Brenda sighed in exasperation and pulled away from him to start walking again. "Jax, you just don’t understand," she said, waving a hand at him as she stopped in the center of the terminal to get her bearings. She frowned, looked in all four directions, and then a determined smile lit her face as she started walking again. "Lucy’s been hounding me for chapter outlines and I *promised* I would get them to her right after the holidays." She stopped abruptly, looked down at her watch, and then pointed to it as she looked up at Jax. "OK. It’s *after* the holidays, and thanks to spending so much time with you and the kids, I don’t have a thing done on them."

Jax grimaced in surprised anguish. "But I thought you *enjoyed* spending time with us……"

Brenda grabbed his arms. "I *did* Jax, but you have to realize that *I* have a job, too! How am I supposed to be able to give your proposal the serious thought it deserves if I have Lucy calling me every ten minutes?" She sighed and rubbed her hands up and down the sides of his arms. "Tell you what," she smiled at him. At that moment, Brenda saw where RJ got his "disappointed pout" look. "Let me have tomorrow to myself to work on those chapters. Then I’ll have an answer for you the day after that."

One eye narrowed in thought, Jax stared down at Brenda for a few seconds. "The day after tomorrow, huh?" {That’s not bad, Jax. It’s only right that she’s nervous – she’s probably never made this big of a decision before. You have to respect her right to think about it. She’s smart. She’ll realize that we were meant to be.} Brenda sighed with relief when he smiled at her indulgently. "OK. After all, I know when I’ve got job worries on my mind, I can’t seem to concentrate on anything else." He tapped her on the nose playfully. "But the day after tomorrow, Ms. Barrett, we’re going out to dinner to celebrate our engagement!"

******************

Jean Cichon was sitting in the ER lounge, contentedly sipping a cup of coffee while watching her favorite soap opera. When the door of the lounge opened with such force it slammed against the wall, she choked on her coffee and sat up straight. "What the he……"

Andrea posed in the doorframe, hands grasping the sides, hip slightly thrust forward, and gave Jean a brilliant smile. She threw back her head and burst into an a capella rendition of Handel’s "Hallelujah Chorus." By the time she got to the fourth "For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth…..," Jean was wiping away tears of laughter. Andrea let the door close slowly behind her as she walked to the lockers, still whistling the rest of the refrain.

"What’s got you in such a good mood? Is Scott meeting you for a noonie?"

Andrea took her sweater and purse out of one of the lockers and then slammed it behind her. She turned to Jean and rested her back against the closed locker. "Nope. I’m floating between departments today, and my time here in the ER is finished!!" she sang. "It is now officially two o’clock, and I get to go upstairs and spend the rest of my day on the OB floor!! And the icing on the cake is that Lois Ashton is bringing in the baby while she gets a checkup, so I’ll get to play with him and get paid for it at the same time!!"

Jean frowned and gestured towards an empty chair. "OK – what have you done with the *real* Andrea and who is this pod nurse?"

Andrea raised her eyebrows innocently. "Why do you say that? Is it so strange that I would rather work on the nice, quiet OB floor than down here with all these adrenaline junkies?"

"Oh, yeah – and all those pregnant hormones that are floating around up there put smiles on everyone’s faces all the time." Jean leaned forward after switching off the television. "Spill, Andrea – I thought I heard you recently saying that you’d give *anything* to spend more time down here working with the *amazing* Dr. Jacks."

Andrea folded her arms in front of her, the sweater draping over them. "Right now, the only *amazing* thing about Dr. Jacks is that one of the ER nurses hasn’t amputated one of his vital body parts!"

Jean settled back in her chair with a frown. "Really? I haven’t seen Jax in a few days but we’re supposed to be meeting for coffee at….." She looked down at her watch and then back up at Andrea. "……well, right about now, to tell the truth. We were going to discuss how the nurse anesthetists were doing in their ER rotations."

Andrea shook her head and walked past Jean towards the door. "Well, maybe at the same time you can discuss why the good Doctor is biting off the head of anyone who simply crosses his path this morning." She opened the door and then paused to look back at Jean. "I think poor Jessie Moore is so desperate she’s about ready to call V and give her back her job as chief ER nurse."

Jean’s eyes widened. "Oh, God, NO! Anything but that!" She was giggling uncontrollably with Andrea when the aforementioned Dr. Jacks’ voice was heard from the hallway.

"Nurse Ransley, do you suppose that you might be able to make a decision if you’re coming or going anytime soon? Like maybe in this millennium?"

Jean pulled her chin back and grimaced while Andrea gave her a "see – I-told-you-so," look. "I’m soooooo sorry, Dr. Jacks," she replied snidely, moving aside as Jax bustled through the door. He headed straight for the coffee pot and looked as though he hadn’t smiled in a week. Andrea tipped her head again at Jean and then gave her a victorious salute as she disappeared into the hallway and let the door slowly close behind her.

Jax poured himself a cup of coffee and then briskly strode to join Jean at the table. "So, how’s things hangin’ today, Blue Eyes?" she teased.

Jax came up quickly from the coffee he was sipping and patted his chest. He swallowed hard and then gave Jean a dirty look. "Was that supposed to be funny?"

Jean settled back in her chair and propped her elbows on the sides, folding her hands in her lap. "Wow…….it’s even worse than Andrea said it was," she whistled softly.

"Worse? What’s worse?"

"YOU, Jax. Apparently all the nurses in the ER think you’ve traded places with Mr. Hyde lately." She placed a hand gently on his arm. "Is something wrong? Something with Brenda?"

Jax swore under his breath and then sat back in his chair dejectedly. His stance mirrored Jean’s, elbows on the chair, hands clasped at his belt. He looked down into his lap and spoke so softly that Jean almost didn’t hear him. "Brenda turned me down, Jean. She left a message on my d*mn answering machine that the answer was no."

Jean paused. "Well, now speaking from personal experience, and if it was ME, I’d say that the answer to almost *any* question you’d ask me would be "yes."" Jax cracked a half-smile and Jean continued. "Go ahead. Ask me. In fact, you don’t even have to ask. Yes. Yes! YES!!" Jax laughed softly but then Jean took his hand again. "What did you ask her, Jax?"

He sighed. "I asked her to marry me."

Jean frowned. "And she turned you down?" She whistled softly and sat back in her chair in shock. "Wow – and I thought things were going so well between you two."

"I did, too!" He took another sip of coffee and resumed his dejected posture. "She got along with the kids so well while they were here for Christmas, and then the other night when you babysat for the kids, we……uh……" Jax blushed a little. "…….well, we hadn’t for a while and it was just……"

Jean suddenly put up her hands and turned her face in the other direction. "OK, OK!! More information than I need to know, here!!" She sat and thought for a minute as Jax took another sip of coffee, and then she narrowed an eye. "Exactly when did you ask Brenda to marry you?"

"It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, actually," Jax sighed. "We had just taken the kids to the airport to put them on the plane back to Boston, and seeing her with them, it just hit me, you know? How much we belong together? How perfect we are together?"

"Uh-huh." Jean’s face was deadpan. "And…….you accompanied the proposal with flowers, maybe? Or a stunning engagement ring?"

"I told you, Jean, we were in the middle of the bloody airport!! How was I supposed to get flowers or a ring when it just came to me out of nowhere to propose?!"

Jean chewed on her lower lip. "But during this impulsive proposal, you DID tell her that you loved her, didn’t you?"

"Of course I did!" Jax bristled defensively and looked down into his lap again. "I mean, I think I did," he added in a smaller voice. Jean raised an eyebrow at him and he shook his head and grimaced. "I probably didn’t."

Jean sighed loudly and crossed her arms. "And she turned you down? Big surprise."

"Well, she should KNOW I love her!" Jax objected. "I mean, just because I didn’t happen to mention it *this particular* time, that doesn’t mean that I don’t love her!"

Jean shook her head. "It’s a female thing, Jax. Women like romantic gestures – hearts and flowers. Why do you think we love reading those books like Brenda writes so much? A woman can never have enough romance in her life." Jax sulked in his chair and Jean chewed on her lower lip before speaking again. "So……you said she left a message on your machine? She didn’t even turn you down in person?"

"She told me at the airport that she needed time to think about it because she had some important deadline with her publisher," Jax mumbled. "She promised to give me an answer in two days, but last night she left a message that she was having trouble concentrating on writing and needed to get away for a while."

"Away – where?"

Jax shrugged. "I don’t know. She just said she didn’t want me worrying about her because she was going to hole up somewhere for a few days so she could devote all of her attention to her writing." He snorted in a sarcastic imitation of a female voice. "And then she said, "So I’ll talk to you as soon as I get back, and by the way – the answer to your proposal is no.""

Jean pursed her lips. "Hmmmmm……" Suddenly, she looked down at her watch and then jumped to her feet. "You know, Jax, I’m really sorry, but I just remembered I had a consultation with another doc up on the OB floor." She gathered up her files. "Do you mind if we re-schedule our meeting to another day?"

Jax waved a hand at her listlessly. "No. It’s probably just as well. Maybe I’ll just go out and buy a cat to kick."

Jean headed for the door and gave him a distracted nod and wave. "Yeah – that sounds like a plan, Jax. You do that." She went through the door and took a deep breath. "You know what I feel like?" she muttered to herself. "I feel like playing with Lois Ashton’s baby for a while."

********************

"BRENDA!!!" Lois almost dropped Christopher when she heard Brenda’s voice on the telephone. "Where in the cotton pickin’ blue blazes are you?"

"I’m at a bed and breakfast near San Jose, Lo," Brenda replied sheepishly. "I came up to visit Tyra for a while, and we went on some wine-tasting tours in the Napa Valley. So then I thought I’d just hang out here for some peace and quiet and get my writing done."

"Visit Tyra? Why would you do that? I thought she drove you nuts with all her outlines and folders and stuff….."

"Lois!! Don’t say that!" Brenda was clearly embarrassed. "I mean, she IS more organized than I am when she writes – well, I guess she’s a LOT more organized than me about everything, actually. And every time she sells more contemporary romances than I sell historicals, I could still scratch her eyes out." She sighed loudly. "But she’s still a fellow author, and when the going gets rough, we all stick together through thick and thin."

"Yeah, and she also lives far enough away that it gives you an excuse to not have to talk to a certain handsome blonde doctor for a few days."

There was a few moments of silence. "I figured there was a reason that you left so many messages on my machine," Brenda groused. Another silent pause. "Did you talk to Jax? Is he really upset?"

"What do YOU think, Brenda? The man proposed marriage, and you didn’t even have the decency to turn him down face to face."

"I know, Lo, I know." Brenda’s sigh betrayed her guilt. "But he was just so gosh darn sure of himself, and I needed some time to think……"

"Yeah. Time." The beeping of the long-distance connection was the only sound for a few seconds. "What’s going on here, Bren? I thought you cared for the man….."

"I DO, Lois," Brenda argued. "I love Jax. I never thought I could love a man as much as I love him."

She could hear Lois’s frown. "Then why the turndown?"

"Because it’s MARRIAGE, Lois – the big kahuna. The ball-and-chain. Life sentence without parole." Brenda sighed in exasperation. "Why did he have to go and bring up the "M" word? Just when things were going so well between us….."

"Brenda, when two people love each other, marriage is generally part of the equation. Look at me and Ned."

"You and Ned have got nothing to do with this, Lois." Her voice became harsh. "Jax only asked me to marry him because I managed to do something that Miranda couldn’t. I made his kids real, instead of being little stuffed shirt mini-Jax’s."

"Bren-da!!!!"

"Well, it’s true. Seeing us all saying good-bye at the airport and how well I got along with his kids just made Jax realize something. If he married me, there wouldn’t be any problems with the kids getting along with an evil stepmother. He’d have a built-in babysitter for when he got paged to the ER unexpectedly."

There was another thirty seconds of silence. "Yeah, you’re probably right, Bren," Lois finally admitted dejectedly. "Jax is just another selfish, egocentric louse. He’s only interested in what HE can get out of the situation….."

"That’s not true, Lois!!" Brenda suddenly interrupted. "Jasper Jacks is one of the most giving, caring, UNselfish men I’ve ever met! How can he be a doctor and put in all those long hours unless he cares about other people?"

More silence. "I thought you just said that the only reason he asked you to marry him….."

"I know, I know!!!!" Brenda snorted indignantly. "You don’t have to be both smart AND beautiful, you know, Mrs. Ashton!!"

Lois chuckled softly. "So then what’s the problem, Brenda? Why are you so scared of marryin’ Jax?"

"He’s…….he’s just……..well, he’s from BOSTON, for God’s sake, Lois!!"

"OOOOHHHHHHH, yeah, I forgot that. But you know, I heard on the news the other day that they discovered some signs of intelligent life there."

"Lois, you’re a mother now. I thought when you got to be a mother, you had to give up smart @ss comments like that." Brenda rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. "Besides, that’s not what I meant."

"Then why don’t you explain it to me."

"It’s just that Jax and I are so completely different, Lois. It’s more than just like we come from opposite sides of the country – it’s like we’re from two different worlds." A long sigh echoed in Lois’s ear. "Miranda and Jax were like two peas in a pod. They had EVERYTHING in common, and the marriage STILL fell apart eventually. How can we hope for a happily ever after when we’ve got so many strikes against us from the start?"

"Wellll, look at your mom and dad, Brenda. They’re not exactly soul mates, and they stay together. And you and Jax LOVE each other. Love goes a long way in keepin’ a marriage intact."

"Yeah, I guess you’re right." Brenda’s voice blustered again. "But he didn’t even SAY he loved me when he proposed, Lois! He started telling me about his retirement plan and his health insurance!!"

"And I didn’t tell you about the time Ned proposed to me? When he offered to show me his portfolio?" Lois chuckled. "I wasn’t sure if he was askin’ me to do somethin’ naughty or really just being a typical, boring doctor."

"Awwww, Lois, I don’t know. My head’s been spinning ever since Jax proposed. I just had to get away…… to try to make some sense out of it all…….."

"Then you did the right thing getting away, Brenda. Marriage is a big step and you SHOULD make sure you’re doing what you want. But did you have to tell the man NO? Especially when it sure sounds like you’re still considerin’ it?"

"You’re right. But darn it, Lois, he was so insistent about wanting an answer right away!!" Brenda giggled a little. "The man is starting to remind me more and more of Wulfgar all the time."

Lois sighed. "All right. Let me see if I can have Ned try to explain some of this to Jax. Maybe he can help Jax understand that you’re just shy about the "M" word."

"You’re a doll, Lois. I love you, you know that."

"And I love you too, Brenda." Lois hung up the phone and stared at it before speaking to it softly. "That’s why I’m not gonna let you make the biggest mistake of your life here."

*********************

Lucky Spencer stared down at his left hand suspiciously while Jessie Moore cleaned the cut. "Are you sure I don’t need some kinda specialist for that? Like a hand transplant or somethin’?"

Jessie chuckled. "No, Mr. Spencer. It’s really just a superficial cut. Just a few stitches and you’ll be good as new."

Lucky’s eyes widened. "But you’re not gonna be the one sewin’ me up, are you? I mean, you’re gonna get me a REAL doctor for that? A MAN doctor?"

Jessie tried to disguise the sharp breath she took. "Well, I’ll see who’s available, Mr. Spencer……"

"Cause I got insurance, you know! I mean, this gets paid for cause it’s your basic workman’s conversation, you know." Lucky gave Jessie a wise nod. "I mean, I don’t call it workER’s conversation like all those bleedin’ heart liberals, but I still know that when I get hurt on the job, some big insurance company pays for me getting’ stitched up."

Jessie smiled wanly and patted Lucky’s arm before making some notes in his chart. "I understand, Mr. Spencer. It’s not a matter of the insurance." She flipped the chart closed. "I’ll see which doctor is available to put in your sutures……"

"I want Dr. Jacks." Lucky’s facial expression reminded Jessie of a five-year-old.

"Dr. Jacks might not be available……"

"Is he on duty today?"

Jessie sighed but tried to keep her smile. "Yes, he’s on duty, but he might be busy handling another trauma……."

"Then I’ll wait." Jessie raised an eyebrow. "Well, you SAID it’s not that bad a cut. And they got somebody coverin’ my spot on the job site." He settled himself on the gurney. "I can wait for Dr. Jacks."

Jessie chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "You might not want to see Dr. Jacks right now, Mr. Spencer." She was well aware from talking to Jax that they knew each other from the Thursday Night Poker League. "He’s …….well……he’s not exactly…….."

"Look, Nurse……" Lucky squinted at her nametag. "……..Moore. When I cut myself today, I said to myself, "Self, that’s God makin’ life easier for you. While you’re in the hospital, you can look up good old Dr. Jacks and find out what he’s doin’ to make Brenda so miserable."" He sat up straighter, shifting his shoulders to assume a posture of power. "If the good doctor thinks he can break our Brenda’s heart and get away with it, he’s not so smart after all. Me and the boys just want him to know that."

Jessie’s eyes widened. "Brenda’s…….Brenda’s miserable?"

Lucky shook his head. "Geez, she’s so crabby even REGGIE can’t stand her." He leaned towards Jessie confidentially. "Old Reg even called her the "B" word after last week’s poker game." He shook his head again. "Between Brenda and Reg, there was so much estrogen in the room the other night that me and Nicholas was almost stranglin’ on it." Lucky nodded and gave Jessie a grim look. "Yep, me and the boys decided right there and then that we would do whatever it took to make sure Jax and Brenda got back together if they was havin’ problems or somethin’."

"Really!!" Jessie smiled and tapped her finger against her lips. "That’s VERY interesting."

Lucky frowned. "Why? What were you gonna say about Dr. Jacks?"

She brightened and set down Lucky’s chart. When she went to the door of the trauma room, there was a definite spring to her step. "Mr. Spencer," she announced brightly, "I think I was a little hasty in assessing that cut of yours. I think that maybe it DOES need some expert attention." She opened the door and winked at him. "Just the kind that you can get from our very own Dr. Jasper Jacks."

To be continued……