Jean Cichon sauntered through the door and towards the coffee machine, smiling smugly. "Still working on those ER budget figures, Jax?"

"Have I mentioned lately how much I HATE the administrative end of being ER chief?" He glanced down into his cup of coffee and then held the mug out towards Jean, absorbed in his work again. "Fill me up again, would you, Jean?"

She poured the last of the coffee into her own mug and grinned. "Awwww, gee……wouldn’t you know it? That was the last in the pot, Jax! I’m *really* sorry."

"Yeah, right…….like h*ll you are." Jax shoved his chair back with a loud thump and stomped over to the cabinet to take out a new bag of coffee grounds.

"Whoa…….*somebody* sure got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!" Jean leaned back against the counter and slowly sipped her coffee while watching Jax start the new pot to drip. "Are those budget figures *really* that bad?"

"I’m a surgeon, Jean, not a bloody accountant," Jax growled. He glared at the coffeepot and when a dark black fluid started to accumulate, Jax mirrored Jean’s stance against an adjoining counter.

"So………." Jean stared curiously at Jax over her coffee mug as he folded his arms and closed his eyes. "What have you heard about the new guy in ENT?"

Jax frowned but never opened his eyes. "New ENT?" He thought for a moment. "Ohhhh, you mean Dr. Thornburgh?"

"Started out as an allergist – worked his way up to being the best Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon in the Midwest but Cedars managed to steal him anyway…….." Jean gestured with her coffee mug as she prodded Jax with helpful hints.

Jax nodded, eyes still closed. "Yep. That’s the one. Dr. Jeffrey Thornburgh. From Iowa or Indiana……one of those wholesome states……"

"So……..what do you know about him?"

Jax arched an eyebrow as he opened one eye. "What do *I* know about him?" He stood up straight and went to pour himself a large mug of the now-finished coffee. "Sounds like you *already* know plenty about the guy."

"Yeah, but none of the *good* stuff!" Jean followed Jax back to the table and took a seat next to him.

"What *kind* of good stuff?"

"Oh, come on, Jax!" Jean set the mug down and leaned conspiratorially towards Jax. "Don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud! Andrea said the nurses in OB talked to some of the nurses in Internal Medicine and they said that the new guy is a real hottie!" She winked at Jax lewdly. "Details, Jax…..I want details!!"

"How did you just say all that without taking a breath?" Jax chuckled a little when Jean glared at him and then leaned back in his chair. "Well, he’s about my height, kinda blondish-red hair, moustache and a short beard……"

"Glasses?" Jean was sitting on the edge of her chair.

"Nope. Definitely not." Jax shook his head firmly. "At least, he wasn’t wearin’ ‘em when we played golf last week."

"He plays golf?" Jean’s voice trailed off towards the end blissfully.

"Um-hmm…….and I understand that normally he’s a scratch golfer." Jax sighed and leaned back over his accounting papers again.

"Normally?"

"Yeah – I think he sprained his right shoulder the last time he went skiing."

"Snow or water?"

"Definitely snow." Jax stared at the papers and scratched his head again. "Jeff likes to jump out of helicopters and then ski down the mountain." Suddenly, Jax slammed down his pen and looked up at Jean with fire in his eyes. "And just *why* are you so interested in another man, Dr. Cichon?"

"Greg hasn’t put a ring on my finger yet, Jax!" Jean teased. "I can still look!"

Jax shook his head and took a long drink of coffee. "Women!! I’ll never understand ‘em!"

Jean’s eyes widened. "THAT’S why you’re in such a bad mood today! You had a fight with Brenda this morning, didn’t you?"

Jax sighed. "Not this morning. Night before last."

"36 hours ago? And you haven’t made up yet?"

"Well, it’s not like I didn’t try!" Jax ruffled his hair with his hands and sat back in his chair again. "But first I got called into the ER because they were short-handed, and then I had to assist on some surgeries and supervise the interns, and then Brenda holed herself up because she had a deadline to meet with her publisher……."

"And you didn’t try to call her? Not even once?"

"I ……. I……." Jax threw up his hands. "Well, I *tried* Jean, but I couldn’t get through right away, and then Brenda refused to answer the phone while she was working through her bloody writer’s block crisis." He pouted and folded his hands in his lap. "I *did* send her roses – red ones."

"That’s a good start." Jean nodded in appreciation. "But a phone call would be better."

Jax glanced up at the clock. "Well, I guess there would be time before I have to sit in on that splenectomy to supervise the med students….."

The words were barely out of his mouth when the lounge door opened slowly. "Hi……." Brenda put her head through and smiled shyly. "Am I interrupting anything important?"

"Not at all!!!" Jean shot up out of the chair like a rocket. "I was just on my way up to…….to…….well……" She grinned slyly at Jax. "…..to get my adenoids checked." She coughed theatrically and patted her chest. "These darn allergies just won’t seem to go away, you know?"

"Yeah…….maybe you ought to have a doctor look at that, Jean." Jax chuckled softly as Jean gave him a thumb’s up and disappeared from the lounge.

Brenda looked from the closing door to Jax. "Inside joke?"

"You had to be there." Jax rose to his feet awkwardly. "I tried to call you last night….."

"I know, I know….." Brenda shook her head and waved a hand at Jax. "I just figured if I was ever going to break this writer’s block and get Lucy off my back, I’d better put the answering machine on and lock out the rest of the world."

"Even your husband?" Jax’s words were so soft that Brenda almost didn’t hear him.

"I…….I’m sorry, Jax." Brenda grimaced and strolled towards the coffee pot, clearly embarrassed with her behavior. "I……well, I’m still getting used to this whole "married" thing. I’m just not *used* to thinking of myself as part of a team."

{You’re not used to the "married" thing……..geeeeeez, what would you say if you found out you weren’t even married?}

As Jax tried to control his racing heartbeat, Brenda turned to look over her shoulder at him with a coy smile. "I did get the roses, though…….." She stared down at her feet and blushed slightly. "That was a very type B thing for you to do, you know."

"Yeah, well……..after being such a type A jerk about your feelings the other night, I figured it was the least I could do." Brenda stared into Jax’s eyes and just as they moved closer towards each other, the door to the lounge slammed open.

"Dr. Jacks!! Dr. Wexler needs you in exam room 2 STAT!!" Jessie Moore didn’t even seem to see Brenda in the room as all of her attention was focused on her chief.

"I’m on my way." Jax was halfway across the room before Brenda could even blink. She took a breath to say something but he turned at the door and pointed at her. "Don’t go anywhere. We need to talk."

"I’ll be here." Brenda hoped he had heard her. His white lab coat fluttered in his wake as the door closed slowly behind him.

Jax strode into an exam room that was alive with the sound of beeping monitoring devices. "What’s going on, Karen?"

"Patient is Mrs. Robyn Mathers, Dr. Jacks." The snap of sterile gloves punctuated Karen’s statement as Jax donned them. "She’s in her 34^th week of her first pregnancy. Onset of labor six hours ago. Dr. Cichon administered an epidural at……" She glanced down at her watch. "13:30. Contractions now five minutes apart, patient is 6 centimeters dilated, amniotic sac broke a minute ago, fluid was clear….."

"So what’s your point, doctor, since I assume you have one?" Jax stared at Karen after smiling reassuringly at the patient.

"We hooked the patient up to a fetal monitor as a precaution, Dr. Jacks." She stepped back a little and lowered her voice. "Baby’s heart rate has been dropping ever since her water broke."

Jax’s face fell. "What is it now?"

"90." Karen glanced over at the monitor as Mrs. Mathers cried aloud. "Looks like another contraction’s starting." Both Jax and Karen’s eyes widened when the fetal monitor started to shrill. "Heart rate is dropping again, doctor……..down to 80 now." Karen went to the monitor as Jax moved into position at the foot of the exam table.

"I need to examine you, Mrs. Mathers," he said gently, "as soon as this contraction finishes." The monitor seemed to wail for a lifetime until Jax could finally lift the sterile drape that covered her lower body.

Thirty seconds later, the doors to the exam room burst open. Brenda heard the commotion from inside the lounge and couldn’t stop herself from looking out into the hallway. What she saw made her put her hand over her mouth to stifle the gasp.

Jax was perched atop the gurney, straddling the patient, with his hand beneath the sterile drape. The woman on the gurney was crying and pandemonium seemed to have broken out everywhere. A young woman whom Brenda assumed was Dr. Wexler was pushing the gurney along with an orderly while a harried-looking young man followed the entourage. "Tell them I don’t give a bloody d*mn whether there’s an OR clear – we’re on our way up NOW for a crash C-section!" Jax shouted above the din.

Brenda watched until the gurney disappeared into the elevator along with Dr. Wexler. Just before the doors closed, Jessie Moore shoved the chart at the orderly. She stepped back with a loud sigh and rubbed the back of her neck as she made her way slowly back towards the ER lounge.

She looked up just as she came to the spot where Brenda stood. "I……I sure hope Jax had a good reason to have his hand where he did," Brenda quipped. Then, she became serious. "What happened?"

"It’s called a prolapsed cord," Jessie replied. "Sometimes the umbilical cord gets pushed out before the baby does, cutting off the oxygen supply."

"How awful!" Brenda glanced back at the elevator. "Will they be OK?"

Jessie shrugged. "We hope so. Jax was holding the baby to keep it off its cord. They’ll get someone to relieve him once they get into the OR and deliver the baby."

"Wow…….." Brenda shook her head as Jessie followed her back into the lounge. "I didn’t realize things got so…….intense…….around here."

"Are you kidding?" Jessie smirked as she went towards the coffeepot. "This has been a *quiet* afternoon!" She took a mug and was about to fill it when the door to the lounge slammed open again.

"Units are bringing in a possible MI, Jessie. Collapsed at the wheel of his car, causing a major MVA on the interstate. They’re about two minutes out." Amy didn’t acknowledge Brenda’s presence as she rattled off the basic facts.

"Page Dr. Alan Quartermaine to the ER STAT, Amy!" Jessie shoved the mug back onto the shelf and smiled at Brenda as she flew out of the lounge with a wave. "Guess I spoke too soon about it being a quiet day!"

Some 90 minutes later, Jax wearily pushed the door to the lounge open to find Brenda sitting and watching television. He silently strode over to the chair where she sat, absorbed in the angst of daytime drama. "You know," he whispered, leaning down to place a kiss on top of her head, "I hate those things. The writers just recycle the same plots over and over……."

Brenda slapped his hand lightly, concern written all over her face. "How’s that lady and her baby?"

"It was a boy – eight pounds, two ounces. Screamed like a banshee the minute we took him out of his mum’s tummy." Jax smiled weakly and ran his fingers through his hair. "Both of them are doing fine, but the new dad’s a bit stunned."

"I guess so!" Brenda stood, pointed towards the chair, and as soon as Jax sank into it, she settled herself in his lap with a contented sigh. "I never knew you were a baby doctor," she whispered, looping her arms around his neck.

"I’m a "whatever-needs-to-be-done" doctor, Brenda." Jax pushed the hair back off her face and stared into her eyes. "That’s what I love most about working in the ER. It’s always a challenge."

She nodded slowly. "I see what you mean. I never realized…….." Brenda cupped the side of his face lovingly. "Jax, you had that baby’s life right in your hands – literally!! I mean, I never knew that you ……. that there was so much stress around here……." She shook her head in self-recrimination. "If I EVER complain about having writer’s block again, just remind me that it’s NOTHING compared to what you do every day!"

Jax placed his finger against her lips and smiled. "Shhhhh……." His eyes grew moist. "I was so afraid I lost you, Brenda….."

She kissed each digit on his hand. "You’ll never lose me, Jax." Then she lifted her left hand and entwined their fingers. "I haven’t taken this ring off since the night I married you, and I never will!"

As she nestled into his lap again, Jax stared at the ceiling of the lounge. {You have to tell her. Take her away to some romantic setting, wine and dine her, make sure she knows how much you love her………and then tell her the God-awful truth. At least you’ll be able to give her CPR after she passes out.}

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"May I have your attention please?" Harlan Barrett tapped his spoon against his water glass and then rose from the table, lifting his wineglass high in front of him. "I’d like to propose a toast – to Dr. Jacks and his sweet little Tooshie!"

"Here, here!" Lois choked back a laugh and lifted her glass as Jax glowered. "I’ll drink to Jax and his tooshie any day of the week!"

"He doesn’t mean it that way, Lois," Jax stated firmly beneath the laughter and cheering. "Brenda’s dad has always called her Tooshie…..it’s a nickname….."

"I know, I know……" Lois patted his arm and wiped a tear from her eye. "Don’t get yourself so upset, Jax. It’s just a little joke, OK?"

"Don’t worry about it, Lois," Brenda smiled after kissing Jax on the cheek. "My hubby’s getting better about being a laid-back Californian, but sometimes he just has these momentary lapses……."

"Your husband……." Veronica Barrett sighed dreamily. "It just doesn’t seem possible, you know?" she asked, wiping a tear from her eye theatrically. "That our little Tooshie is all grown up and married – just like that?"

"You have NO idea how impossible it seems to me too sometimes, Veronica," Jax replied, arching one eyebrow in Ned and Lois’s direction. The Barrett’s, Ashton’s, and Jacks’s had all gathered at a local seafood restaurant several days after Jax and Brenda’s reconciliation. With Harlan and Veronica making good on their promise to visit the newlyweds, it had been proclaimed that a celebration was in order courtesy of the parents of the bride.

"So, Brenda……" Veronica continued delicately. "When will you get to meet your new in-laws?"

"Actually, Jax heard from his mom and dad just yesterday," Brenda replied brightly. "They just got back from some round-the-world cruise and want to come here as soon as possible to meet me." She moved into Jax’s embrace as he put his arm around her shoulders. "And they took the news about losing their son to some *wild* Californian woman pretty well, I think!"

"Well, they should just remember!" Ned quipped. "They’re not losing a son – they’re gaining a Tooshie!!"

Laughter exploded once again as Jax’s cheeks colored with embarrassment. When some semblance of quiet was restored, Harlan Barrett looked seriously at Jax. "You know though, young man, Brenda’s mother and I have a bone to pick with you……"

"Uh-oh – here it comes!" Brenda laughed, moving so that her body was between Jax and her father. "Put the shotgun away, Pa! I’m not pregnant!"

Harlan shook his head and grimaced. "That’s not it at all and you know it, Tooshie." He folded his hands on the table and appeared to select his words carefully. "It’s just that my Cupcake and I have always dreamed of the day that we could throw a big shindig for our Tooshie’s wedding – you know, lots of guests, me walking my baby down the aisle while her mother sobs her eyes out, rubber chicken for dinner, a five-tiered wedding cake with little plastic figurines set up like Patton’s regiment on D-Day……"

"And now I took all of that away from you by whisking her off to Las Vegas for a quickie wedding." Jax’s heart sank even lower as he imagined his in-laws’ disappointment at their "marriage."

"Not necessarily." Veronica smiled like a pixie and sat forward in her chair, her eyes dancing with delight. "Poopsie and I have been talking, and we’d still like to spring for a ceremony here, if you kids wouldn’t mind going through all the "I do’s" over again." Brenda’s eyes widened. "And if Jax’s parents are planning to visit soon anyway, it would give them a chance to take part in the event, too!"

"Ohhhhh, I don’t know……." Brenda looked up over her shoulder at Jax. "My new hubby isn’t exactly the kind of guy who likes to put on a tux just for show."

"Well, it wouldn’t have to be a BIG affair!" Harlan quickly countered. "Even if it was just something for the family and a few friends it would make Cupcake and I feel a little less ……. well, less……."

"Cheated." Jax supplied the word and Harlan stared down at his lap self-consciously. "And I completely understand your feelings, Harlan. I….uh….." He blushed and ran his free hand through his hair. "Well, let’s just say my mum gave me pretty much of a tongue-lashing for depriving her of wearing puffy sleeves and big hair for her baby boy’s wedding!" He toyed with his wineglass. "I could probably get the chapel in the hospital, if it would be adequate for our needs……"

"Ohhhh, Jax! That would be so great!" Brenda squealed. "Then all of your friends at work could come see us get married again since they missed it the first time!"

Jax nodded and smiled, completely hiding the urge down deep in his soul to jump up and dance a jig for happiness. He couldn’t believe his good luck – Brenda would think she was marrying him *again*, but in reality it would be just doing the deed that was never done the first time! He could get away clean and maybe never have to tell her about his deception at all! Well, maybe after ten years or so…….and after three kids………but only then, and only when she was in a *really* good mood.

"It’s set then!" Harlan pulled a small leather notebook out of his jacket pocket. "We’ll just find a date that’s convenient for everybody, including Jax’s parents, of course…..and then he can make sure that the hospital chapel’s available for our use!"

"Lois!" Brenda leaned across the table to the awestruck brunette. "Will you be my matron of honor? Especially since I had Elvis do the honors the first time around?" she added with a giggle.

"I’d…….I’d be thrilled, girlfriend," Lois smiled weakly in reply.

"And of course I’d love for you to stand up for me as best man, Ned" Jax quickly interjected. "Especially since you and Lois have been so *helpful* in bringing Brenda and I together!"

"How can I refuse?" Ned arched an eyebrow sarcastically at Jax but Brenda never noticed it. Her attention was drawn back to her mother and Veronica reached beneath the table and pulled out a large white box tied with an antique white velvet ribbon.

"Now Tooshie, your father and I had been saving this for you ever since you were born….." Veronica looked at Harlan with tears glinting in her eyes. "But since you’re technically already married and your re-wedding day is so close, we thought it would be more fitting to give it to you tonight."

Brenda accepted the box with shaking hands. She un-wrapped it slowly and gasped aloud when the lid popped open to reveal an ornate emerald and diamond necklace nestled on a white velvet bed. "Ohhhhh, mama……it’s beautiful!" She slowly withdrew it from the box and turned to Jax for assistance with the clasp. "It looks antique!"

"It is, dear," Veronica smiled. "It belonged to your great-grandmother. My grandfather gave it to her on her wedding day, and my mother wore it on her wedding day and then gave it to me to wear when I married your father." She frowned a little as Jax struggled with the clasp. "That thing hasn’t worked right in years, though……if it’s giving you too much trouble, I’m sure I could find a jeweler in the area who could repair it before the wedding…."

"You’re not getting this back on your life!" Brenda laughed. Just as she said the words, Jax triumphantly closed the clasp. She hugged the rich jewels to her neckline. "Now that I’ve got this on, I don’t think I’ll EVER take it off!"

Harlan came around to Brenda’s side of the table with his arms outspread. "It looks just as beautiful on you as it did on the day I married your mother, Tooshie." Brenda rose and moved into his arms for a big hug. "I can still see my Cupcake that day…….a wreath of daisies in her hair, long-haired freaks playing guitars as we walked barefoot through a field to say our vows….."

"…..half the crowd at the reception was stoned before it even started….." Veronica added wistfully. "Ahhhh, yes……those were the days……"

"SOOO……" Ned interrupted loudly. "Why don’t we all get out our calendars and pick a day for Jax and Brenda’s wed……..RE-wedding!" he corrected himself quickly. As the group settled into the task of finding a day that was convenient for all and Jax placed a cell phone call to his parents to confirm it, he considered what kind of shrine he was going to build in thanksgiving for his great good fortune.

#####

"Did your mother really say she can’t wait to meet me?" Brenda sat at her dressing table combing her hair late that night. Her question was directed to Jax, who was on the floor doing some sit-ups.

"She’s going to fly in a week before the wedding, just so she can go shopping with you for a dress and get to know you better," Jax replied. He sat up one more time and then stared at Brenda. "You’re not nervous about making a good impression on her, are you?"

"Well, I’m *always* nervous about meeting people, and she will be……I mean, she IS, my mother-in-law, after all." Brenda made a sick face. "And I’ve got a lot to live down in the daughter-in-law department after Miranda, you know."

"Sweetie, you’re NOTHING like Miranda, you know that!" Jax said gently. He rose from the floor and went to stand behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders to massage them. "And I’m sure that my mum will love you just as much as I do!"

Brenda patted his hand. "You’re sweet." She leaned back so he could bend over to press a lingering kiss to her lips. "Now why don’t you go finish your exercises so we can get to bed? I’ve got a big day tomorrow if I have to find a wedding dress!"

"I’m just going into the kitchen to make a few phone calls – I have some post-op patients I need to check," Jax explained. He walked towards the bedroom door but then stopped and arched an eyebrow at her. "Are you really going to wear that necklace *all* the time? Even to bed?"

Brenda sighed and fingered the gems lovingly. "I know – I just hate to take it off, you know? It’s so beautiful…….but I know I need to get back to reality." Her hands went behind her neck to start un-doing the clasp.

Jax started to walk back towards the bed. "Do you want me to help you with it before I make those calls? That clasp *is* kind of tricky….."

"No…..you go ahead." Brenda waved at him, her head bent over as she fumbled with the necklace. "I think I’ve just about got it."

Jax left the room and never heard Brenda swear softly under her breath. "You should have let him help you, dunce!" she admitted after a few minutes of unsuccessful attempts. "Wait……OK……that’s it…….you’ve got…….OUCH!"

The necklace fell to the bedroom floor as Brenda pulled her hand back and stuck her fingers in her mouth. "D*mn! I pinched it!" She waved the fingers of her left hand in the air so briskly to soothe the pain that her wedding ring flew off, sailing onto her dressing table amidst the perfume bottles.

"Ohhh, that’s just great, Brenda! First you tear your finger open on the necklace, and now you lose your wedding ring!" She leaned forward, peering among the decanters until a bright smile lit her face. "Aha! There you are, you little devil!" She snatched the ring and held it up in the light. "Now – back on my finger where you belo…….."

Brenda’s eyes narrowed. Just as she was about to put the ring back on her finger, the lights at the dressing table reflected off the ring. She stopped, brought it closer so that she could take a good look inside, and then gasped loudly.

"Why, Jasper Jacks! You……..you…….." Her hands dropped into her lap and then Brenda’s eyes widened even farther. "What did you do??!!"

To be concluded……..