Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny and Brenda went back to rising early. She came down the main staircase around 8:30 and saw Charles at his usual post, polishing the furniture again. "Good morning, Charles."

He looked up with a warm smile. "Good morning, Mrs. Jacks. Have you and the young master recovered from Sunday’s festivities yet?"

"Well, I think I finally caught up on my sleep, but I don’t think I’ll *ever* get all the thank you notes written for the christening gifts." She looked towards the dining room shyly. "Is Mr. Jacks eating inside today or is he down at the pool?"

"Neither, madam," Charles replied. He put down his can of wax and dust cloth and took Brenda by the arm, leading her towards an unfamiliar set of patio doors. "Mr. Jacks and Mr. Cassidine met for a set of tennis and breakfast this morning. If you follow this path, and then veer to the left, it will lead you directly to the courts."

Brenda pulled back a little. "Oh, well if he’s got a guest this morning, I shouldn’t intrude…."

Charles smiled indulgently. "Mr. Cassidine is a frequent visitor, Mrs. Jacks." Charles craned his neck to the left and pointed. "He lives in the house over that ridge of bushes. Mr. Jacks enjoys losing to him at tennis on a regular basis."

Brenda giggled. "So, I wouldn’t be interrupting some important business meeting….."

"I’m sure Mr. Jacks wouldn’t mind your company at all." Charles had to shake his head as he watched the lady of the house nearly fly down the pathway. The staff was all betting how long it would take before Mr. and Mrs. Jacks finally realized how much they still loved each other and gave in to their feelings. Charles kept it to himself, but secretly was of the opinion that the new Mrs. Jacks should just throw Mr. Jacks down on the floor and ….. express herself.

Brenda heard Jax laughing loudly even before he came into view. "When will I ever learn? I should just concede the match before we even begin!"

A husky voice matched Jax’s laugh. "And will that be true in the business world also, my friend? When might I expect J&J Jacks to simply acquiesce to the fact that Cassidine Industries is the rightful leader of industry in Jakarta?"

Brenda rounded a series of bushes in time to see Jax and a tall, sandy-haired man sitting down at a wrought-iron table near the tennis courts. "Nevah!" Jax replied dramatically, slapping the man on the back with jovial good humor. Both of them seemed to sense Brenda’s presence and turned to see her standing about 15 feet away. "Brenda! I didn’t know you were up this early!"

Jax had to fight that constricting feeling in his chest as his wife approached them. She had on some white capri pants and a mint green gauze top with a white tank shirt underneath. Brenda had pulled her hair back into a ponytail again this morning, and Jax had to wonder why the old Brenda had never worn her hair that way. It was a most becoming style – although, Jax also realized that the only reason he liked it so much was because he dreamed of taking it down, running his fingers through the thick strands of silk, and then kissing her until they both were breathless.

Brenda was fighting her own sensual thoughts at the same time. If she thought her husband looked sexy in his swimsuit, it was only because she had never seen him in his tennis whites. The tight-fitting short shorts made a striking contrast with his tanned, muscled thighs. His short-sleeve, V-neck polo shirt clung to his chest with perspiration, and as he pushed his hair back off his forehead, Brenda couldn’t help but notice the corded muscles in his upper arms. In fact, she had dreamt about those same strong arms wrapping around her and pulling her to him in bed only the night before.

Brenda clasped her hands behind her as she approached Jax and his opponent. "I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to interrupt."

"You’re never an interruption, dear lady," the sandy-haired man replied smoothly. Brenda immediately noticed his Continental appearance, complete with short beard and mustache. "You should know by now that I always enjoy having an audience when I trounce your husband so thoroughly at anything."

Although Brenda had felt awkward and embarrassed when confronted with people from "her" past at the christening party, somehow this man brought out an impish boldness in her. "And *you* should know by now that I haven’t the faintest idea who you are, my dear man." She extended her hand to him regally. "*Or* if I like you or not."

Jax sputtered and ran his hand through his hair, pushing damp strands back off his forehead. Meanwhile, a hearty laugh exploded from the sandy-haired man’s chest. "My God, Jax, I know you told me she’s changed, but you never told me how delightful she had become!" He bowed at the waist as he kissed the back of Brenda’s hand. "I am Stefan Cassidine, my dear Brenda. Next-door neighbor… friend…business rival…and *definitely* your husband’s superior at tennis."

Jax just shook his head and pulled a chair from nearby so that Brenda could sit at the wrought-iron table with them. Brenda batted her eyes coyly at Stefan. "It’s very nice to meet you…..but you haven’t told me the most important fact I need to know, Stefan," she purred. She turned to Jax and gave him a playful look from beneath lowered eyelids. "Do I like him?"

Jax took a large, frosted pitcher and poured a glass of orange juice, handing it to Brenda. "Not at all," he answered dryly.

Brenda raised her eyebrows as she accepted the glass and she turned back to Stefan. "Really? Why is that?"

Stefan was accepting his own glass from Jax. "Probably because no matter how truly awful you are to me, dear lady, I am always kind and polite to you." He took a sip of juice and then stroked his moustache with his thumb and forefinger. "To be perfectly honest, I think it infuriates you that you can’t make me hate you."

"Welll," Jax drawled, offering a plate of fresh fruit to Brenda, "maybe now that she’s been re-born, she’ll have better sense and she’ll hate your guts the way the rest of us do." He smiled sarcastically and held the plate out to Stefan, who took a slice of cantaloupe and held it up to Jax in mock salute.

Brenda munched thoughtfully on a strawberry. "No, I don’t think I’ll hate him this time around." Stefan smiled triumphantly, taking his glass of orange juice and holding it up to Brenda to toast. She lifted her glass and clinked it against the side of his, but then she raised one eyebrow at him. "BUT……first he has to have an *excellent* reason why he wasn’t at Jon’s christening."

Stefan echoed Brenda’s arched eyebrow. "Touché, dear lady." He selected a pastry from a large tray that sat in the center of the table. "I deeply regretted not being able to attend the christening of your firstborn son." He leaned towards Brenda confidentially. "On the Greek island that I come from, there is nothing more important than the birth of a male child." He leaned back and regarded the sweet roll seriously. "In fact, were our roles reversed and Jax had missed the christening of *my* firstborn son, I would have called for his immediate emasculation – perhaps even before I heard the reason for his absence."

Jax chuckled. "Remind me *never* to miss another one of your parties, Stefan."

Stefan grinned in reply, but then turned to Brenda. "But the sad truth was that my presence was required at the police headquarters for the entire day, perusing photo albums that they call by some ridiculous name."

"Mug shots?" Brenda swallowed her juice with a choked cry. "Why would you have to be looking at pictures of criminals all day?"

Jax took another pastry from the plate and sat up straighter. "Stefan had the misfortune of being the victim of a burglary recently." He broke the bear claw in half, offering one part to Brenda. "A very valuable Padparagia sapphire was stolen from a display case in his home."

Brenda frowned. "What’s a Maharajah sapphire?"

Stefan waved off Jax’s hand and took the pitcher of orange juice to refill Brenda’s glass. "A *Padparagia* sapphire, charming lady, is not merely "very valuable." It is priceless." He set down the pitcher and folded his hands in his lap. "It is not the blue color of most common sapphires, but a brilliant golden orange. Most of the sapphires of this color that you might see in jewelry stores these days are synthetically grown. This one was a natural Padparagia of substantial carat weight. It was mined recently in the mountains of Chile."

"In a region where Stefan just *happened* to have a deed to the land," Jax added. "As if he needed any more money in his family’s coffers." He wiped his mouth with his napkin and then threw the napkin on the table. "So – the police have absolutely *no* leads in the case?"

Stefan shook his head, holding up a hand to "pass" when Jax offered him another pastry. "They are clueless." He snorted in disgust. "In fact, they are so desperate to solve the case that they actually had the audacity to suggest to me that it might have been an inside job."

"And that’s why you had to look at the mug shots – the photo albums?" Brenda added the explanation when Stefan gave her a puzzled look.

He nodded. "Yes. With the elaborate security system I had in place, they cannot imagine how an outsider would have been able to get the code to disable the alarm."

Brenda drained the rest of the juice from her glass. "Well, it sounds like it was exquisite. It’s a shame that I didn’t get a chance to see it before it disappeared."

Stefan stretched his arms. "Ahh, but you *did*, dear Brenda. You and Jax came to my house for dinner the night before the gem disappeared. You even remarked about how elaborately it was displayed in the special case I had constructed."

Brenda gave Stefan a sheepish grin as Jax nodded. "Well, Brenda wouldn’t remember that, Stefan. So I guess she’ll just have to settle for seeing it again when you recover it."

"Ahh….American optimism. What a charming custom." Stefan rose from his chair, looking at his watch. "Almost as charming as the company this morning, but I am afraid that now, I must leave you. A boring business meeting awaits me." He grabbed his tennis racket, but then stepped back to the table to take Brenda’s hand and kiss the back of it. "It was truly magnificent meeting you again, dear Brenda." Then he gave Jax a fierce look. "And you -- I’ll see you for tennis again soon. My ego demands complete subjugation of an opponent at least once a week."

Jax chuckled as Stefan saluted them with his tennis racket and trotted off towards a wooded path. "He’s nice -- I like him." Brenda turned to Jax, who was also rising from the table and grabbing his racket. "So -- do *you* have some boring business meeting to attend, too?"

"I’m afraid so, Brenda." He hung a towel around his neck. "But I’m sure that between Jon and all of your former friends who weren’t allowed at the christening, you’ll find some way to occupy your time."

Brenda remained seated at the table. "Actually......I promised Carly that I would have lunch with her today." Brenda really didn’t enjoy "her" friend’s company that much, but she had so many more questions to ask about "her" past and Carly was the quickest source of information. But when she looked up at Jax, his face had turned to stone.

"Well then, I’m sure you won’t want to disappoint her and be late, so I’ll just head on up to the house for a quick shower."

Brenda stood quickly as Jax turned to leave. "No! Jax -- wait!" Jax halted and looked back at her. "I...uh....we need to talk about something."

{The divorce. She may not have remembered everything else, but she remembered that.} He walked slowly back to the table and sank into his chair. "What do we need to discuss?"

"Well......it’s Tuesday, and those ballet tickets are for tomorrow night." Brenda played nervously with the edge of her napkin. "Things just got so hectic with the christening and all that we never talked about them again, and then you were tied up all day yesterday."

"So?" Jax toyed with the handle of his butter knife, trying to look supremely disinterested.

"So.....I want to go, and I want you to take me." Brenda only looked up at him after the words came out in a tumbled rush.

Jax didn’t dare look into her soft brown eyes. He deliberately kept staring at the piece of cutlery. "We discussed this before, Brenda. I *hate* the ballet. In fact, *you* hate the ballet. The only reason you ordered the tickets is because Miguel *adores* the ballet and being seen there with you on his arm."

Brenda abruptly grabbed the knife away from Jax, holding his wrist tightly in her hand. "Will you stop playing with that and look at me?" Jax raised pained eyes to meet Brenda’s. "And I *told* you that I don’t want Miguel to take me. I want to go with you."

Jax sighed. "Brenda.....it would just be a waste of time." He took a deep breath. "I take it you haven’t remembered what we were discussing right before you went into labor." Brenda shook her head, a cold dread seeping into her heart. "You were just telling me how bloody awful it was being married to me, and how you didn’t care about the settlement. You wanted a divorce. Immediately."

Brenda’s breath hitched in her throat. "Jax.......I don’t......I mean, I can’t ......."

Jax took her hands in his. "But you *will* remember eventually, Brenda." Brenda saw the tears gathering in his eyes. "It’s been like h*ll for me, this past week. I know it’s happening, and I can’t do a d*mn thing to stop it."

"What’s happening?" Brenda’s own eyes were growing misty.

"I’m falling in love with you all over again." Jax took a shaky breath. "It’s just like it was in the beginning…..when you and I could be in a room and we didn’t notice anyone or anything else. All that mattered was you, and me, and the rest of the world wasn’t worth a tinker’s d*mn." He stroked her hand once with his, but then stopped himself. "It was like that the night of the christening again. When we were in that hallway outside your room, I came this close to suggesting that we spend the night together."

Brenda could barely meet his gaze. "But?"

Jax sighed. "But then I started remembering again. You didn’t just break my heart, Brenda......you shattered it into a million pieces and then ground them into the dirt with your designer heel." He stared down at the table as he pulled his hand away from hers. "In the beginning, I refused to believe it. But then, when it began to sink in, my whole world fell apart. For days, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep – Jerry had to take over the business because I couldn’t concentrate more than ten seconds at a time." The tears started in his eyes again. "It nearly drove me mad the last time Brenda, and I won’t go through it again."

"So…..that means you’re going ahead with the divorce?" Brenda had to choke back tears of her own.

Jax took a shaky breath, running his hand through his sweat-dampened hair. "I had contacted my lawyer right after Jon was born to draw up the papers. But then, with this whole amnesia thing – I never did anything more about it." He folded his hands on the table in front of him. "You’ve had me so d*mn confused – the *new* you, I mean."

Brenda reached out to take his hands tenderly in hers. "But maybe that won’t change, Jax." He looked up at her and the expression in his eyes – the vulnerability, in a man who could be so strong and forceful in all other aspects of his life – nearly tore her apart. "There’s no guarantee that I’ll go back to being like she……like I was before."

Brenda held her breath as she saw Jax looking at her with a combination of hope and desire. But then she saw it fade just as quickly. "That would be too much to hope for, Brenda." He cleared his throat and pulled his hands away from hers. "Besides – it must be coming back to you. Why would you be having lunch with Carly today if you weren’t remembering the connection?"

Brenda had to bite her cheek. {Uh-oh. Now what do I say? If I tell him the real reason – that I want to snoop into "her" past so I know what "I’m" doing – he’ll think I’m insane again. But why would I be spending time with a woman like Carly unless I remembered her?}

Brenda was still trying to figure out a plausible excuse when Jax rose from the table, mumbling something about the markets being open and not having any more time to waste on futile discussions. {Think of something! He’s close to falling for you – if you can just punch a hole in that brick wall around his heart, you’ll have a chance.} Jax had already turned to go up to the house when Brenda called to him. "Then take me to the ballet tomorrow night -- for one last date."

Jax spun around, an incredulous smile on his face. "A DATE??!! You want me to take you on one last *date*?"

Brenda sat up straighter, wiping her eyes quickly with the back of her hand. "Yes. One last date -- to remember all the awful times we had together. To celebrate what you won’t have to endure any longer."

Jax shook his head. "You’re not going to give up on this, are you?"

Brenda sat back and folded her arms, crossing her legs. "You’re bloody d*mn right I’m not."

He smirked, pulling on the ends of the towel around his neck. "Then I don’t suppose I have much choice. Alright -- I’ll take you to the ballet. But don’t expect me to enjoy it." He turned back towards the house and went off without another word. But Jax never saw the satisfied grin that spread across Brenda’s face. Now, all she had to do was find out a few more things from her best friend -- Carly Roberts.

*~*~*~*

Brenda thought her head was going to explode if she had to listen to Carly drone on any longer about who said what at the gym. {At least I didn’t have to go there. The only thing worse than sitting through this awful monologue would be having to *exercise* while I listen to this awful monologue.}

Carly suddenly stopped. "Brenda -- are you OK? I mean, you’re not going to flat-line again or anything, are you?"

Brenda laughed and patted Carly on the arm. "No, Carly. That was only caused by the stress and pain of childbirth. I’m fine now."

"Whew.......that’s a relief." Carly broke a few more of her potato chips into small pieces. "Because I don’t know any of that CPR stuff."

Brenda pulled her chair in closer towards Carly’s. At least if she was going to have to stomach Carly’s conversation, she wasn’t going home without the answers to *some* of her questions. "Carly -- can I ask you a personal question?"

Carly brightened immediately. "Sure -- ask away, honey. You know we’ve always been straight with each other."

Brenda wasn’t ready for the guilt that she felt, using Carly like this. Carly seemed to really regard Brenda as a true friend. If she only knew the real truth -- that Brenda Jacks had actually died, and the person having lunch with her had a complete life and family on the opposite coast of the United States -- it would probably be enough to send Carly over the edge into total hysteria. But -- she had to find out things about "her" past, so Brenda rationalized around her conscience. "When I told Jax I was meeting you for lunch, he didn’t seem too happy. He doesn’t like you much, does he?"

Carly sat back and roared with laughter. "That’s the understatement of the year, girl! Jax hates my guts!" Then she patted her chest to calm herself and grew more serious. "I think he blames me, you know. For the way you changed."

"What do you mean?" Brenda shook her head.

"Well, before you met me, I don’t think you had too many other friends. Friends who you, like, go out with and drink with and stuff. But that day you came to the gym, we just seemed to hit it off so well -- like twin sisters that were separated at birth or somethin’, you know? And then we started having lunch together, and shopping together......and going out drinking together." She grinned naughtily and shrugged her shoulders. "And hitting on guys together!"

"We hit on guys......together?" Brenda tried not to let her gulp show.

Carly sat up straighter, her face growing animated. "Yeah! Well, at first only at the gym, you know......but then at bars, too!" She leaned forward and grasped Brenda’s wrist. "Don’t you remember John and Ted -- those guys we met at The Bungalow?"

Brenda’s eyes were growing wide, despite her attempts not to look shocked. "No -- I don’t remember."

Carly sighed wistfully. "Oh, Brenda, that’s a shaaaame. That night when we all decided to have some *fun* together….."

Brenda paled, but tried to smile. "Really? Which one did I......I mean, did we all.....?"

Carly pulled Brenda down so that their foreheads touched. "John chickened out on us at the last minute, so then just you and I *did* Ted."

Brenda’s head shot up, but Carly pulled her back down. "Both of us? At the same time?"

Carly leaned back, a blasé smile on her face. "Once. And then at least once with just me doing Ted and you watching." As Brenda’s face grew pale, Carly took her hand earnestly. "But I *always* shared with you, Bren. Then *I* watched a few times while *you* did Ted."

"How considerate." Brenda’s words were choked.

Carly began fiddling with the potato chip crumbs on her plate again. "I guess that’s why Jax kinda hates me, too. But the only reason that we suggested it to him was because it had worked so well with Ted, you know." As Brenda raised eyes the size of saucers to meet Carly’s, Carly rushed on. "*And* because we had too many margaritas that night."

Brenda held up a hand. "Wait a minute......you and I had too many margaritas......"

".......and Jax, too.....he was drinking, too......although not as many as we were," Carly added.

Brenda nodded slowly. "So, anyway.......we suggested to Jax that the three of us......" She pushed her hair back off her face, hoping that the gesture made her look nonchalant. "......that we all......that you and I......"

"Well, actually it was more like Jax and I, with you watching," Carly murmured. As Brenda’s mouth dropped open, Carly rushed on. "But it was *your* idea, Brenda. YOU were the one who said I should do him and you would watch."

Brenda grimaced a little. "How magnanimous of me." {Brenda Jacks was a GRADE A idiot! Any time I would let a man like Jax "do" somebody else while I watched!} "So, I take it Jax refused our ......generous....offer?"

"He blew sky high," Carly admitted. "After that, he really was p*ssed when you told him we were going out together, and then after I introduced you to Miguel.....well, I didn’t DARE suggest anything involving another guy again."

"Ahhh....that’s right. You introduced Miguel and I." {What a gem of a friend.}

To Brenda’s surprise, Carly blushed a little. "You know, there are times when I ......regret.....doing that." Brenda raised her eyebrows in silent puzzlement, so Carly went on. "I mean, I know you love the guy and all, but frankly.......ever since he went off like that on Max......well, he gives me the creeps."

{Max. That’s the name Miguel mentioned the night of the christening.} "Max? Do I know somebody named Max?"

Carly nodded. "Max is this guy down at the gym. Personally, I think he kinda had the hots for you, but he never really came out and said so. But he just used to watch you a lot, and one night Miguel saw him watchin’ you."

"And what did Miguel do?"

Carly looked around her. "Well, the police can’t prove it, but the talk at the gym is that he hired some guys to beat Max up pretty bad." Carly leaned forward again, pulling Brenda closer to her. "I heard that Miguel went a few rounds on him myself."

"So, Miguel’s got ......connections? He knows hired muscle?" Brenda felt her heart in her throat. All she could think of was how Miguel had threatened Jax if she continued to stay with him.

"Miguel’s got all *kinds* of weird connections." Carly looked around suspiciously again. "There’s talk at the gym that he even knows people on the East Coast who are involved with the Mafia." Carly shivered a little. "I hate to burst your bubble, Bren, but the guy’s no good if you ask me."

{ALL RIGHT!! She doesn’t like Miguel any more than I do. Maybe I can find out more about him and that thing he kept talking about....} "He crashed Jon’s christening party, you know," Brenda confided.

"Oh, my God!" Carly covered her mouth with her hands. "Did you remember him?"

Brenda shook her head. "Not at all. But from the way you described him and that thick accent of his, I put two and two together."

"Was he ...... spooky?"

Brenda frowned. "I don’t really know. He confused me a lot, though." This time she leaned towards Carly. "He kept talking about something called the Martinique, and insisting that I had it. I tried to tell him that I didn’t even know what a Martinique was, but he just kept harping on it."

Carly gave Brenda an "I know what you mean" look. "That d*mn Martinique. He used to talk about it down at the gym all the time." She folded her arms and shook her head.

"Did he ever say what it was?" {Come on.....just a little bit more. This afternoon has been SO enlightening.}

Carly shrugged. "I dunno. Some kind of precious gem, I think. He showed us pictures sometimes. Told us how it was worth millions cause they’re so rare." She laughed a little. "I told him that personally, I wouldn’t pay a plugged nickel for some shiny thing that looked like a pumpkin."

Brenda’s blood froze. "A pumpkin?"

"Yeah. You know how most stones are clear, like diamonds, or red or green, like rubies or emeralds? Well, this sucker that he wanted so much was orange -- or gold, maybe." Carly plucked anxiously at a cuticle on her pinkie nail. "Anyway, he said it was really rare and came from some mountains in South America, I think."

Brenda sat back stunned as Carly went on about her preference in precious gems, totally oblivious to Brenda’s non-attention. {The Martinique belonged to Stefan. It disappeared the day after "she" and Jax had dinner there. The police couldn’t figure out how anyone would have gotten the combination to the alarm system. Miguel must have convinced "her" to find out the combination during dinner, and then help him steal it the next day.}

Brenda hardly noticed anything else Carly said during lunch, or the trip back home, for that matter. All she could think about was the Martinique.

{I’m going to go to jail. What judge is going to believe me? What am I going to say -- "Oh, no....I didn’t steal it because I wasn’t really me then, you see. I was Brenda Barrett, and I lived in Port Charles, New York with my half-insane mother." -- YOU’RE the one the judge will think is insane, Brenda!}

She barely noticed Charles as he greeted her on her return to the house. She trudged up the stairs slowly, trying to think of a way out of this bizarre situation or who she could ask for help. But when she went into the nursery and heard Jon’s whimper, the floodgates burst and Brenda dissolved into tears. She rushed over to Jon’s cradle, picking him up and hugging him tightly.

{My sweet baby! They’ll send me to jail for a million years and I’ll never see Jon again!} But then as Brenda undid her blouse to nurse her hungry son, a new resolve began to form. {I’ll just take the orange shiny thing back to Stefan. He likes me. He won’t tell the police.} She began to breathe more evenly, and the peace that nursing Jon always brought to her let a smile return to Brenda’s face.

Until....…..Brenda had put Jon over her shoulder and was showing him the gardens when Miguel’s words came back to her.

Brenda stopped patting Jon’s back as terror gripped her heart again.

{"She" hid it. And now Miguel wants it. And he’s dangerous enough that he’ll hurt Jax or anyone you love unless you give it to him. But how can you give it to him when you don’t know where the bloody h*ll it is??!! And if you can’t find it and give it to him, it won’t really matter because you’ll be going to jail anyway!!}

Brenda looked around "her" room. And for the first time in her life, Brenda Barrett sank to her knees. {Oh, God.....You must have known all of this was going on when you sent me here. I’m gonna need some MAJOR help on this one.}

And as Jon Jacks slipped peacefully to sleep in his mother’s arms, he never saw the tears that started rolling down her cheeks and didn’t stop for a LONG time.

To be continued......