This is my J&C adaptation of Susan Sizemore’s novel, "His Last Best Hope"

"I’m afraid I cannot oblige you, Pantera!" Faison growled, pulling Chloe tighter in front of his body as a shield. "She became a part of it all the day you stepped on board the Morgana!" Chloe whimpered when she felt the pistol Faison held to her temple quiver with his rage. "You took the spoils that were rightfully mine that day, including her!" When he jerked the arm around Chloe’s waist to lift her off the ground slightly, her scream made Jax wince. "She should have been mine then, so I’m taking her back NOW!"

"You are some piece of work, Faison," Jax snarled. He kept dead aim at Faison’s chest while inching his way closer to his target and Chloe. "You realized that you couldn’t possibly beat Cassidine so you left the rest of your men inside to die in your place." He shook his head sarcastically. "Such compassion for your faithful foot-soldiers."

"You forced my hand, Pantera. Once I thought that you had already sold me out to Cassidine, I had no choice but to declare my intentions." Faison shrugged. "It is a shame that they will die, but they are not irreplaceable. You know as well as I that a man’s loyalty in this part of the world is available to the highest bidder."

"You’ll never make it out of here alive, Faison! Think about it!" Jax tried to convey some small degree of reassurance to Chloe as he glanced into her eyes. "Even if you use the woman as a shield, Cassidine’s men will make short work of the peons you left to face the music alone!" A minor explosion from inside the villa punctuated his point. "You’ll never get past the front gate and live to tell about it!" Jax nodded towards Chloe. "Let her go – this isn’t her fight and she doesn’t deserve to die."

"NONE of us deserve to die, Pantera, but we all do, no?" Faison’s maniacal grin and the way he jerked Chloe against him sent a shiver down Jax’s spine. "Her time will just come today – with yours and mine."

"IT DOESN’T HAVE TO!!" Jason’s shout cut through the tension in the driveway like a knife. He strode slowly towards Faison and Chloe, his pistol lowered.

"Stay away from me or I’ll kill her on the spot, Jason!" Faison shouted. Chloe yelped sharply when he pushed the pistol beneath her chin, forcing her head up at an unnatural angle.

"That would be even more STUPID than you’ve already been, Faison," Jason calmly growled. "You’d lose your hostage and any prayer of making it out of here alive today."

"Ahhh, but your *friend* there tells me I’m already a dead man," Faison snarled back, nodding towards Jax, "so what does it matter?"

"You’re NOT a dead man." Jason put his hands up at his sides in a gesture of surrender. "Not if you listen to my plan and do the smart thing for a change."

Jax kept his rifle trained on a spot near Faison’s heart, but unfortunately the bullet would have to travel through Chloe’s chest to hit it. Faison eyed Jason warily and arched an eyebrow. "I’m listening."

"This is *my* jeep." Jason tilted his head towards the vehicle in the driveway. "There are no other cars on the resort that you can get to in a hurry, and I sincerely doubt that Cassidine’s men will give you a lift to the front gate and back to town." He paused to let the truth of his words sink in. "If you let the woman go un-harmed, I’ll take you out of here. Right now."

"I can’t let her go." Faison seemed to reject the plan but Jax saw a tentative uncertainty in his eyes. "Even *you* said that she’s my one chance of making it out of here alive."

"I was wrong." As Jason calmly continued to keep Faison’s attention, Jax moved to his right side at an excruciatingly slow pace. "*I’m* your one chance of making it out of here alive." Faison’s eyes darted between Jason and the jeep. "But I’m not hangin’ around here much longer." Shouting from the front of the villa echoed in the driveway. "That’s probably Cassidine’s men coming, and I want to get out of here before more h*ll breaks loose."

Jax prayed for strength and a steady aim. He knew that he didn’t have much more time. In his fury at Faison’s betrayal, Cassidine had probably instructed his men to kill him on sight. They wouldn’t stop to ask questions or care if Chloe happened to be in their line of fire.

"Why are you willing to do this for me, Jason?" The hand holding the pistol to Chloe’s chin quivered as Faison considered his options. "I tried to kill *you* in there, too."

Jason sighed in exasperation and to everyone’s surprise, coolly jerked open the door to the jeep. "I don’t have time to explain how my mind works, Faison. The offer’s on the table." The sound of footsteps coming into the driveway made Jason nod in that direction. "I’m leaving NOW – either let the woman go and get in, or get ready to face Cassidine’s firing squad."

It was now or never. More thundering footsteps and shouting gave Jax the distraction he needed as Faison glanced over his shoulder. Letting out a blood-curdling yell, he tossed aside his rifle and dove for Faison’s legs. Chloe screamed and was knocked to the ground herself when Jason jumped into the fray and pulled her out of the mud and behind the jeep.

"NOOOO! Let me go!!" Chloe tried to pull away from Jason but he only dragged her farther beneath him and the cover from gunfire the jeep afforded. "I have to go to him!!"

"YOU CAN’T HELP HIM!!" Jason gripped her shoulders tightly and tried to look into Chloe’s eyes, but she kept trying to pop up and see over the jeep. They both froze in place when there were more shouts from the mouth of the driveway.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!!" Stefan’s voice was clearly audible above the din. In the silence that ensued, Chloe could hear grunting and the sick sound of fists pounding against flesh. She tried one more time to get away from Jason but the sound of a gunshot, rapidly followed by another, made her eyes go wide with fear.

"PANTERA!!!" Chloe threw herself towards the ground but Jason was unrelenting. He wrapped his arms around her waist with all his might and pulled her back behind the jeep until he could see who had been victorious in the struggle.

"STAY DOWN!! KEEP THE WOMAN CLEAR!!" Stefan’s voice sounded again, this time much closer. Then, there was an awful, terrifying silence, broken only by the steady patter of rain in the puddles on the driveway. When she heard cautious footsteps coming nearer, Chloe couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. She yanked with all her might and broke free of Jason’s embrace to rise to a standing position behind the jeep.

Her loud sob pierced the morning air. Jax and Faison lay tangled together in the middle of the driveway. Neither one was moving. Stefan slowly approached them, gripping his pistol tightly with both hands and holding it at the ready near his shoulder. Chloe didn’t even realize she was holding her breath until she felt Jason standing behind her, clutching her arms to keep her from running towards Jax.

"Is Faison……….?" Jason left the question dangle as Stefan gingerly moved his adversary’s body with his toe. When there was no response, he leaned down and placed two fingers against Faison’s neck.

"He’s dead." His words still echoed in the gentle as Chloe jerked away from Jason and ran towards Jax’s prone body.

"PANTERA!!" He couldn’t be dead. This couldn’t be happening to her again. Chloe kept telling herself that he *wouldn’t* be dead. That she hadn’t doomed him by telling him she loved him – even though she did, with all her heart.

Just as Chloe slid to the ground to cradle Jax in her arms, Stefan crouched next to her and once again checked for signs of life. "There’s a pulse," he announced grimly, taking his fingers away from Jax’s neck. "A weak one, but he’s still alive."

"There’s a lot of blood." Chloe hadn’t realized that Jason followed to a place behind her until he spoke grimly. "Looks like a chest wound."

Chloe looked from one man to the other desperately. "We have to DO something for him!! You CAN’T just let him die!"

Stefan thought for a second and then whipped off his satin brocade vest. He crouched down next to Chloe and bunched it against the rapidly spreading crimson stain on Jax’s chest. "Hold this to the wound. It might slow the bleeding some."

Chloe took a deep, shuddering breath. Jax needed her. All those times he had saved her life, and now he needed her help in return. The last thing he would want her to do was break down in grief and worry about him. He needed her to be strong – to have the fortitude Ned always said she lacked.

"He needs more than that." Chloe stared fiercely into Stefan’s eyes. "He needs to get to a hospital as soon as possible."

"I could take him in the jeep……."

Chloe glared up at Jason’s suggestion. "That won’t work. The road is too bumpy and it’ll take too long. He’ll bleed to death before we get to town." She turned to Stefan as she felt the material of the vest becoming warm with Jax’s blood. "He exposed Faison for the two-timing b*stard that he was and then killed him for you. You OWE him his life!"

Stefan’s one eye narrowed as he considered Chloe’s words. Then he glanced up at the sky and then Jason. "The storm is letting up. Perhaps the chopper could make it to the mainland …….."

"Chopper?" Chloe looked anxiously between the two of them.

"Stefan has a helicopter at a small airport just outside town." Hope lifted Chloe’s spirits as she remembered Jax mentioning the helicopter when they were at St. Isabel’s right after the hurricane. "Pantera might make it if Padre Tomas can fly him to Miami……" Jason suggested.

"Then what are we waiting for??!!" Chloe looked at both men as though they had lost their minds. "Let’s get him to the airport and in the helicopter!" She turned her attention to Jason. "You said that the Padre was at Sonny’s, right? Can’t you go get him while we take Pantera to the airport?"

Jason nodded but Stefan shook his head grimly. "It might work, but he needs help before then. There’s too much blood being lost……" Then his eyes widened and he put his hand to his forehead. "Dios! How could I have forgotten!" He spun around and barked some quick orders in Spanish at the men who were standing idly by, staring at Jax. They scurried off to do his bidding and Stefan turned back to Chloe. "There is a medical doctor here at the villa on holiday with his wife. I believe she is a nurse. Perhaps they can do something for Pantera until we can get him proper care."

Tears were running down Chloe’s cheeks, mingling with the raindrops that continued to fall in a fine mist. Jax’s low groan was so unexpected that she jumped visibly. "Chloe………"

"Pantera!" She crooned his name and cradled him gently in her lap. Chloe took some small consolation in the fact that the red stain on Stefan’s vest was no longer expanding. Apparently the bleeding was slowing down. "We’re getting help. Just try to hold on," she whispered, brushing the hair back off his forehead.

"Faison…." Jax winced when he took a breath to speak. "Is Faison….."

"He’s dead, Pantera." Chloe glanced disdainfully at the body nearby and then looked back to Jax. "Stefan and his men are here. We’re going to get you to a helicopter and then back to Miami."

"Chloe….." Jax struggled to raise himself but Chloe kept him in her lap. "It’s Jasper." When she frowned at him, he motioned for her to come nearer. "Remember? I told you before. "Jasper. Jasper Jacks. My real name." He took a shaky breath. "I wanted you to know if something…….if I don’t……"

"Don’t you DARE talk like that!" Chloe cried, bending closer to him, willing him strength. "You’re going to be fine, Pantera!" When she looked down at him, her gaze lingered on the blood-stained cigar band on her left hand. "Besides – you HAVE to be fine." She smiled bravely and raised her hand a little. "You made me a promise, remember?"

Jax nodded and smiled ever so slightly. "I remember." Another shudder went through his body. When he opened his eyes, Chloe’s filled with tears at the pain she saw. "Chloe – I didn’t get a chance to tell you before now……I lov……"

"Shhhhh……." She placed her fingers against his lips before he could finish. "Don’t talk, amado. Save your strength." Chloe was almost relieved when she saw that Jax had passed out. She didn’t want to have to argue with him and explain that if he confessed his love for her, it would guarantee his death. As it was, she was tempting fate, calling him by the endearment.

Loud shouting in the driveway made Chloe look up. She saw a crowd of people rushing towards them with a man and woman in disheveled pajamas leading the way. "This is the doctor, Chloe," Stefan said gently. He crouched down to take Chloe in his arms as the doctor and his wife began attending to Jax’s injury. "You have done all you can for him now," Stefan added, holding her tightly as she strained towards the man she loved. "Let them do their job."

Chloe shook her head firmly and brushed away her tears with the back of her hand. "There IS something we can ALL do for him, Senor Cassidine," she replied tersely. "We can pray."

^*^*^*^*^

They’re writing songs of love, but not for me,

She hated hospitals.

As Chloe sat in an uncomfortable upholstered chair that seemed to have *no* stuffing at all in the cushions, she couldn’t help but reflect on all the other times she had come to hospital waiting rooms. There was a certain *smell* to a hospital – not just the antiseptic or the sweet fragrance drifting from the floral arrangements in the rooms. It was the smell of death. And the smell of grief. And with a stab of pain, Chloe realized that every time she had been in a hospital waiting room, the outcome had been grim.

I was a fool to fall, and get this way;

She rose quickly and strode to a window. It was hard to believe, staring out at the bright sunshine and the people scurrying back and forth on the crowded parking lot, that just hours before she had been in a mini-hurricane on a tropical island. Once they got into the helicopter, she had tried to spend as much time as possible with Jax. He remained unconscious for the flight to Miami, but the doctor constantly at his side didn’t seem alarmed. Once they arrived at the hospital, emergency room personnel whisked Jax away and she was later told he was taken to surgery.

The waiting was the worst. Chloe rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to shake the chill that accompanied her from the island. Her hair frizzed around her face and her shorts and top were still uncomfortably damp, but she didn’t seem to notice. When she lifted her hand to push the hair back off her face, she caught sight of the blood-stained cigar band, still tightly wrapped around her finger. As the tears started to flow afresh, a coffee cup miraculously appeared in her line of sight.

"I thought maybe you could use this." Jason gave her a weak smile and offered her the steaming styrofoam cup. "I wasn’t sure if you liked cream or sugar, but this institutional stuff is so awful that I dumped in a bunch of both."

Chloe smiled, nodded, and accepted the cup. "Thanks." She blew gently on the top of the liquid. "I didn’t exactly have much breakfast."

Jason’s face brightened. "They have some decent looking donuts down in the cafeteria!" He pointed over his shoulder in the general direction of the elevators. "If you like, we could probably go down there and grab something to eat……" When Chloe’s face immediately clouded, he went on. "We can let them know we’re down there and they can page us whenever he’s out of surgery."

"No, thanks. This will be fine." Chloe took a sip of coffee. "So…….do you work for Naval Intelligence, too?"

Jason choked on the coffee he had been drinking. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, come *on*, Jason!" She smiled as he lowered his gaze sheepishly. "Ever since we got to Miami, men in dark suits with dark glasses have been swarming all around you, taking orders and parting like the Red Sea when you come through a room." She tipped her head to the side and her lips thinned accusingly. "They don’t do that for just any old gun-running smuggler, you know."

Jason smiled wryly. "Oops."

"So, are you some kind of spy for Naval Intelligence, too?"

"Right church, wrong pew." Jason extended his hand towards the chairs. When they took a seat, he leaned closer so that nobody could overhear their conversation. "I’m with the Drug Enforcement Agency – the DEA."

"So then you knew about Jax all along? And that’s why you tried to help us so many times?"

"No!" Jason shook his head. "I never knew that Jax wasn’t a real gun-runner." He quirked one eyebrow. "Naval Intelligence and the DEA aren’t exactly bosom buddies, even though we have the same objectives." He sighed. "In fact, the top brass from both sides are probably hot and heavy as we speak, trying to figure out what to do about Stefan Cassidine."

"What do you mean?"

Jason looked around to make sure they were alone and then continued. "I’ve been working in the Caribbean for over two years trying to gain Stefan Cassidine’s trust. " He grimaced. "The best way was by clawing my way up through Sonny Corinthos’s organization. And now – I’m at the top of the heap, and about as close to Cassidine as anyone on the island."

"Thanks to Sonny’s *untimely* passing, I suppose," Chloe quipped dryly.

"Sonny Corinthos is very much alive and well……" Her mouth formed a small "o" when Jason smiled and glanced down at his wristwatch. "……and living in a hospital security cell somewhere outside Washington, DC."

"So he *didn’t* really die?"

"No." Jason took a deep breath. "Cassidine’s been dealing in all kinds of illegal sales for some time now, including drugs. That’s why *I* got involved. "Corinthos has stubbornly refused to deal in drugs, although his men have been grumbling about it privately. That’s where the real money is. I’ve been putting up with Sonny and his personal agenda for as long as I could, but I sure don’t plan on spending the rest of my life on Montserrat, waiting for him to let me take over." He shrugged. "By taking Corinthos out of the equation, I got closer to Cassidine and we could start making the deals that would eventually bring him and his customers down."

"But Jax said that Naval Intelligence was going to arrest him……"

"Which is why the head honchos are probably ready to go for each others’ throats by now." Jason shook his head. "We all could have saved ourselves a lot of time and trouble if the one hand had told the other what it was doing."

"So you came to Stefan’s this morning to start this last phase of your sting?"

"Not entirely. I was sent there to get you out safely."

Chloe’s eyes widened. "Me?"

Jason nodded. "Somebody at NI called somebody at the DEA and told them that an innocent civilian was trapped on the island and needed to be rescued." His one eyebrow lifted. "Apparently, Lieutenant Jacks was specifically ordered *not* to come back for you, but he did anyway."

She swallowed hard. "Is he……..is he in a lot of trouble? Because he disobeyed orders and came to Montserrat?"

Jason shrugged. "I don’t know about that. All I *do* know is that I planned to come that morning and feed Stefan some story about Pantera being seen in town at Leanita’s announcing that he was finished with you. And since Stefan seemed to have a soft spot for you, I figured he’d let me take you back to town discreetly so you wouldn’t be embarrassed that your lover had deserted you."

"And you think I would have accepted that and gone with YOU?"

"I’m a professional operative, Miss Morgan," Jason announced curtly. "If you gave me any trouble, I was fully prepared to slip something into your juice and tell Stefan that you passed out from the stress and grief."

Chloe sat back a bit but then nodded thoughtfully. "So you still didn’t know about Jax being undercover, even when you came to the resort to get me out?"

"No, but I figured *something* funny was going on when he was there." He grinned and winked at her. "Not that I blame him. If I had a fiancée as beautiful as you, I’d risk a court martial to get her out, too." Then he sighed. "I just wish somebody would have told me. Could have saved me from getting soaked in that storm this morning and getting shot at." He rubbed the side of his neck and shuddered. "I HATE getting shot at."

The word "fiancée" almost set off a new round of tears for Chloe. At first, she told herself that it had all been part of the decoy – that the entire engagement story was a sham to get them out of La Estrella del Mar. Besides, how could a sensible woman like her even *consider* marrying a man she had just met days earlier? How could they commit to each other for the rest of their lives based on such a whirlwind relationship? And if they *did* have a chance – would Jax survive surgery to see it through?

Both Jason and Chloe looked up when they heard the low sound of a throat being cleared. A tall man in a dark Navy dress uniform stood before them, along with a man in aqua surgical scrubs.

"Commander Donnelly." Jason stood to greet the man in uniform respectfully but coldly. "I was just making sure that Miss Morgan had some company while she waited……"

Chloe couldn’t take her eyes off the doctor. "Did he………is he……"

The doctor smiled. "Your young man came through the surgery and is holding his own, Miss Morgan." He looked towards the man in uniform. "He’ll be in recovery for at least another hour and then we’ll move him to the ICU."

"Thank you, Dr. Sanchez." After Sean shook the doctor’s hand, he bowed slightly and then spun to stride briskly back towards the surgical unit.

"I want to see him……" Chloe tried to push past Sean but he caught her by the arm. "I need to see Jax……."

Sean held Chloe firmly in place as he looked towards Jason. "Why don’t you go check on the chopper and see how soon you can get it back to Montserrat? Cassidine will be wondering what the h*ll happened and we don’t want to arouse any suspicions."

"Not arouse any suspicions." Jason grimaced. "Yeah, right. Maybe somebody should have thought of that sooner and saved me a lot of trouble." He walked away from Sean mumbling under his breath but it wasn’t until he disappeared from sight that Sean finally turned back to Chloe.

"I’m afraid I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself before, Miss Morgan." He smiled cordially. "I’m Commander Sean Donnelly."

"You’re Jax’s commanding officer?"

Sean continued to smile but acted as though he didn’t hear her. "Why don’t we have a seat over there……." He gestured towards the chairs but Chloe stood firm. "I’m sure you have a great deal of questions….."

"I really don’t have *any* questions, Commander," Chloe answered frostily. "I just want to go to see Jax as soon as he’s able to have visitors."

"You heard the doctor." The smile remained pasted in place. "He won’t be awake for another hour."

"Is there some reason why you don’t want me to see him?" Chloe frowned but then her eyes widened with fear. "Is he worse than the doctor said? Did something happen……"

"Miss Morgan!" Sean took Chloe’s forearms as she put her hands to her mouth to stifle the sob. "Lieutenant Jacks is doing as well as can be expected."

"Then why can’t I SEE him?" Chloe pulled free of Sean’s grasp and swiftly swiped her hand across her face to dry her eyes."

Sean took a deep breath. "Miss Morgan, while I’m certain that you had quite an adventure on Montserrat during the past few days….."

"An adventure??!!" When Chloe’s voice rose with passion, Sean shot her a dirty look. She dropped her eyes guiltily. "I’m sorry I interrupted you. Go on."

"Miss Morgan, the events that you’ve witnessed during the past few days involved covert operations of Unites States government. That means they were meant for personnel with top security clearances ONLY."

Chloe felt a chill run down her spine. "And?"

Sean drew himself up to his most "official" posture. "As far as you’re concerned, Miss Morgan, El Pantera and Lieutenant Jasper Jacks do not exist."

"But……."

Sean held up a hand when Chloe took a shaky breath to object. "If you insist on pursuing this matter or try to get in touch with Lieutenant Jacks in any fashion, Miss Morgan, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of the events." Chloe grew pale as Sean looked down to open his briefcase. "Now, if you’ll just have a seat with me, I’ll arrange for a de-briefing session for you with our top people." He stared coldly into her eyes. "After that, I suggest you go home and forget that the past few days ever happened."

To be continued…….

Music credit: "But Not for Me," music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, from the show "Girl Crazy" (1930) and "Crazy for You"