Brenda was about to enter the kitchen the following morning when she heard the sound of a hushed voice. She stood outside the swinging door for a moment, and tried to listen carefully without making her presence known.

"Now, tiger," Jax said in a serious voice, "Mommy might not be feeling too happy this morning. So I think you and I should call a cease fire in the Cheerios war at least for the next few days, OK?" Brenda smiled to herself as she heard Anthony coo, and then start making the grunting noise that indicated he saw something he wanted.

Her heart warmed as she heard his baby voice. "Mo! Mo!" which loosely translated into "I want more of that." She pushed the swinging door open slightly to see Jax seated next to the high chair, spooning a dark substance into Anthony’s mouth. At least, he was attempting to spoon it into his mouth.

"OK, tiger, here you go, but be…." Jax stopped short and Anthony grabbed for the spoonful enthusiastically and flipped it up into the air. The dark substance flew up and hit Jax square on the nose. Anthony dissolved into giggles, and Jax finally finished his sentence. "… careful." He looked at Anthony and smiled himself, and then felt Brenda’s presence and looked to the door. "Care to join us, or have you already bathed this morning?"

She came over to greet her two favorite men. "I’d love to join you." She leaned over to kiss Jax good morning, and surprised him when the kiss was deeper than normal for one of her good-morning kisses. She lingered close to his face to see his eyes sparkle, and then decided to be impish. "Is that more chocolate pudding for breakfast?" she scolded, but before Jax could answer, she licked his nose to clean it. Her sexy smile turned into a face of disgust at the taste and she quickly grabbed a napkin to spit the offending substance into.

He snickered. "Good morning, love, and no, it’s not pudding." He watched her bolt for her side of the kitchen table to grab a drink of orange juice.

"No kidding it’s not pudding! What is that awful stuff?" she gasped.

Jax smiled again. "Well, considering the amount of chocolate pudding he ate yesterday, it something Mum always gave me -–prunsies."

"Prunsies? Oh, you mean prunes," she sighed. "Next time, warn me, OK?" She took another long drink of juice and Jax got up to get the pitcher to refill her glass.

Jax’s eyes still gleamed in mischief. "Just the thing to get you going in the morning, don’t you think?" She gave him a look, and he properly became serious. He put the pitcher down, and pulled her to him. "I did enjoy your good-morning, though, my love. I think it deserves a proper response." As he lowered his head to kiss her, he took the juice glass from her hand and placed her hands at his neck before sliding his one hand down to her stomach. After giving her a sensuous kiss, he moved to the side of her neck to nibble there while he asked, "How’s the tummy today? Still hurt?"

She arched her neck to the side to appreciate his greeting. "No, it’s better today."

He brought his face up to look into her eyes again as his hand moved up to cup her breast and he brushed the nipple. "And how about here? Any problems here I can help with?" He continued his light massage, and smiled wickedly at her. "You know how I just LOVE being helpful around the house."

She had to remind herself that it was her turn to speak. "Oh," she murmured with eyes closed, "that’s so better….I mean, that feels so better…. I mean," she stammered, "…..they’re so good." She grabbed his hand and opened her eyes to look into his. "They’re much better, thank you."

"My pleasure," he replied, and then turned to make sure Anthony hadn’t decided to use the prunsies to plaster the walls. "Would you like some of these frozen waffle things? Anthony prefers sailing them across the kitchen, but I think they’re edible."

She took her seat at the table and noticed that he had on blue jeans rather than his usual power suit. "Yes, please, but won’t you be late for work? I’m really better, you know." She played with a corner of her napkin in embarrassment. "I don’t turn into a shrew every month. You won’t have to wait on me every 4 weeks." She cast her eyes down, but when she looked up at him, he was smiling and bringing her a waffle and syrup.

"I know that, Brenda, but it really had nothing to do with your timing. I checked with Addie this morning and my schedule was clear, so I thought I would spend some time with my wife and son. Is that a problem?"

Brenda couldn’t resist. "No problem at all – as long as you promise not to mention THAT WOMAN’s name again!" She made a fierce face, and then collapsed into giggles at Jax’s look of alarm. "I’m kidding, Jax! I am SO kidding!"

He let out a long breath. "That’s good. I thought maybe you were having one of those "split personality" things again." She gave him a pout, but then they were both interrupted when Anthony squealed. They both looked in his direction, and he had a buttered waffle chunk in his hand, ready to let it sail in Brenda’s direction.

"Tiger!" Jax said in a stern voice, and to Brenda’s surprise, the air whooshed out of Anthony’s lungs and he put the waffle back down on the high chair tray. But before Brenda could voice her amazement at Jax’s control over the tiger, the telephone rang. "I’ll get it," Jax said when Brenda began to rise. "You just eat."

Brenda decided that pampering was something she could get used to as Jax went to the phone. "Jacks residence," he answered evenly, then, "Dad! How are you?"

Brenda stopped eating, her fork suspended in mid-air. Although Jax had taken to the Cerullo’s like he had known them all of his life, she was a little intimidated by the opinion Jax’s family must have of this marriage. What would they think of a woman that their youngest son would marry after barely knowing her? Would they think she was a gold-digger widow with a child to support? She chewed quietly while she listened to Jax’s end of the conversation.

"You will? At the end of the week?" Jax nodded and listened quietly for a few minutes, and then broke into a huge smile. "That’ll be great! And Mum, too?" He listened, then frowned. "No, she won’t miss seeing Jerry at all. We don’t want to frighten poor Brenda – just welcome her to the family."

{Oh, God. They’re coming for a visit.}

"OK, dad. Do you want me to have Addie make the reservations?" He grabbed a pad of paper and wrote furiously. "Yes, I know. Do you want a rental car, too? Are you sure it’s only for the one night?" Jax looked disappointed. "All right. Well, I guess it’s better than nothing. We’ll pick you up at the airport, and I’ll have Addie get back to you about the reservations." There was a silence, and then Jax smiled into the receiver. "It’ll be good to see you again too, dad. Tell Mum I love her." Anthony squealed at that moment, and Brenda jumped up to stuff a piece of waffle into his mouth. "No, dad, I’m not killing my new wife," Jax joked. "That was your grandson. He’ll be anxious to meet you, too. OK, see you then."

Jax hung up the phone slowly and then turned to face Brenda with a brilliant smile. "My father has to speak at some corporate cash management conference here in a few days. He’s bringing my mother and they’re anxious to meet their new daughter." He could see Brenda’s discomfort. "What’s wrong, love?"

He came to the table and pulled his chair over closer to hers. She folded her hands, and he put his hands on top of hers. "Jax, not many men get along with their in-laws the way you get along with Gloria and Carmine." {Of course, not many men are like you, either.} She looked into his concerned aqua eyes, and had to remind herself to speak. "It’s only natural for me to be nervous about meeting my in-laws." She looked down at the table. "I mean, we practically got married overnight. Your mother must think I’m a fortune-hunter, or a babe-on-the-make, or…." Her face dropped and paled. "Oh, Jax, what if she thinks I’m pregnant?!"

He pulled his chair all the way around the table to put his arm around her. "Brenda, my parents will fall in love with you just as quickly as I did. And my mother has no fears that we married for any reason other than love at first sight." He chuckled slightly. "Now, if you were married to my brother Jerry, on the other hand…."

Brenda finally smiled. "He’s the bad boy of the Jacks family?"

At that moment, Anthony’s control snapped like a spring that had been held down for too long. He let go of the largest chunk of waffle on his tray and heaved it across the room, landing on top of Jax’s freshly washed blonde locks. Jax and Brenda both turned to look at him disdainfully, but when his lower lip began to quiver, they both dissolved into laughter. After Brenda carefully extracted the gooey mess from Jax’s hair, he rose and went to unhook Anthony from the chair, swinging him up into the air.

"Oh, tiger," Jax said as he cradled him to his chest. "Your uncle Jerry is going to be so happy to meet you someday. You will FINALLY redeem him from being the bad boy of the Jacks family!"

*~*~*~*

The next day, Brenda was busy working on the contract for a new talent find when her phone rang on her private line. "Brenda Jacks," she answered quietly.

"Hello, Mrs. Jacks," came the reply. "How’s your day – or should I ask?"

Brenda smiled into the receiver. "Much better now that I hear your voice. What’s up? You sound like you’re having a bad day."

Jax hemmed. "Well…I’m not sure what you’ll think of the news I have. Addie’s been trying to get reservations for my parents and that convention must be bigger than we anticipated. There are no hotel rooms available in the Port Charles area."

Brenda inhaled. {They would have to stay with us. And we only have the one guest bedroom. The bedroom where Jax sleeps. His mother will love that.} "None at all? Do you want me to call Edward Quartermaine and try to pull some strings at the P.C. Hotel?"

Jax’s voice was exasperated. "No, love, I already tried that. Short of threatening the old guy with a hearing in front of the FCC, I tried every trick in the book. No room at the inn, I’m afraid." There was a long silence. "I could have Addie try to find them something in Manhattan, but we’ll get to see less of them if they have to spend a lot of time commuting…."

Brenda tapped her pencil on the desk rapidly. "No, don’t do that. Let’s just have them stay at the house with us." There was a long silence. "Jax, are you still there?"

{Yes, I’m still here. But my libido went to heaven about 10 seconds ago.} "Yes, love, I’m here. Are you sure? You know what that means, don’t you? We’ll have to share…"

"Just tell them they’re staying with us," she said firmly. "Now, did you say you had a problem?"

She felt his smile come through the phone wires. "No, my love. No problem at all. I’ll see you at home tonight."

*~*~*~*

The days practically flew until the Jacks family was scheduled to descend on Port Charles in numbers. Brenda spent her time alternately worrying about Anthony’s behavior and cleaning the house within an inch of its life. Jax assured her that his mother and father wouldn’t care in the least whether or not the top of the china cabinet was clean, but she refused to leave any book undusted.

As they walked down the concourse at the airport, her heart was still in her mouth for a number of reasons. Not only was she about to meet her in-laws, but she and Jax were about to share a bed all night. Jax had carefully avoided the subject since their phone conversation, and Brenda wasn’t sure whether or not she should be dreading it or primping in anticipation.

Jax was carrying Anthony on his shoulders as usual. "Shouldn’t we be going the other way?" Brenda asked as they strolled to a relatively empty part of the airport.

"Nope," Jax said succinctly, carefully checking the numbers on the gates. "They’re coming in on the Jacks corporate jet." He chuckled. "Dad hasn’t flown commercial for years and won’t start now. Says he’s not about to start eating TV dinners that they microwave in mid-air." He checked the numbers once more, and pulled Brenda’s arm. "This is it," he said. He checked his watch. "We’re a couple of minutes early. I’m gonna take the tiger over to the window to see if we can spot the jet when it lands."

Brenda nodded absently and watched the two men in her life walk to the large plate glass window. Every day she thanked God for a man who loved Anthony so much. She could see as they stood at the window that he was talking to Anthony and had shifted him into the crook of his arm. He pointed out the window and Anthony’s chubby little arm came up to point in the same direction – like a miniature version of Jax. She watched him throw his head back in laughter and then kiss the top of Anthony’s head where the hair was still baby fine.

Jax walked back over to where she stood, and he shifted Anthony to his shoulders again. Sensing Brenda’s anxiety, he leaned down to her and whispered in her ear, "Don’t worry, love. We’ll all be fine. You’ll see."

Brenda watched the gate, not really knowing what to expect. It certainly wasn’t the tall, dignified man with salt-and-pepper hair and beard and shorter warm-looking blonde woman that appeared. But as soon as she looked into Jax’s mother’s eyes, she recognized where he got his coloring and temperament.

Jax lit up when he saw them. "Mum! Dad! Over here!" he called, and the Jacks both burst into smiles at the sight of him.

Brenda leaned over to him. "Why don’t you let me hold Anthony?" she suggested. Anthony was soon safe in her arms as Jax’s parents came up and his mother enveloped him in a huge hug. Brenda stood to the side shyly, not wanting to interrupt what obviously was a reunion that had been a long time in coming. She could see tears in his mother’s eyes.

"Jax!" she gushed, and then pulled back to look into his face. "You need a haircut!" she said in mock disgust, and then pulled him back into her hug again.

"Oh, mum, not with the hair thing again," Jax blushed. As soon as his mother pulled away again, Jax’s father greeted him with a silent hug and there was a lot of loud back-slapping. Brenda’s butterflies sprouted wings when she realized it was her turn to be introduced to her new family. But when she looked into Mrs. Jacks’ eyes, she realized she had nothing to fear.

Jax came and put his arm around her. "Mum, dad, I would like you to meet my beautiful bride, Brenda Jacks. Brenda, these are my parents, Jane and John Jacks." As he completed the introduction, Jax deftly scooped Anthony from her arms again so that she had no choice but to be embraced.

Jane came and immediately hugged Brenda tightly. "Brenda, love, welcome to the family," she whispered into Brenda’s ear. She pulled back to look into Brenda’s face and then stroked one finger down the side of her cheek. "You are such a pretty little thing, but are you sure Jax is letting you eat enough?" She looked with worry at Jax. "She’s so skinny, Jax. You’re not making her skip meals so you can work late, are you?"

John Jacks laughed heartily and then hugged his new daughter-in-law. "Don’t listen to her, my dear." He put both hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "My dear wife has a fixation on the length of one’s hair and the amount of fat on one’s bones. One is always too much, and one is never enough." He looked at his son. "I have to agree with Lady Jane on one thing, though, Jax. You have picked yourself a beautiful wife."

Just then Anthony decided he had practiced his new social manners for long enough. He cut loose with a yelp that could be heard through half of the terminal. "OK, tiger, I get the picture!" Jax laughed. "Mum, dad, this is your new grandson, Anthony." As soon as everyone was looking at him, though, Anthony’s lower lip began to quiver and Brenda recognized the makings of a panic attack.

But then a minor miracle happened. Lady Jane turned her beautiful blue eyes on her new grandson and spoke in that voice that sounded like strained honey. "What a handsome young man you are!" She smiled at him, and the lip stopped quivering. She put her hands up to him very slowly, palms out. "You know, your grandpa and I brought you something very special. Would you like to come to me and see it?"

Brenda immediately feared the worst. "Oh, now please don’t feel badly if he won’t come. He’s at that age where new people sometime frighten him…." But as she watched, holding her breath, Anthony recognized that same warmth and love that he sensed in Jax’s eyes, and he began to lean towards Jane.

Jax moved closer to her mother, and as she accepted the baby into her arms, Brenda saw tears form in her eyes. "Oh, my, you are such a precious little boy," she crooned, and petted his hair lovingly. She placed her cheek against his, and to Brenda’s shock, the baby threw his arms around her neck. Brenda glanced at John Jacks, and saw the hint of tears in his eyes, too.

"Well, Jane," he blustered, breaking the silence, "don’t you remember anything about children? Can’t very well promise the boy a surprise and then forget about it with all this blubbering and hugging and nonsense!" He leaned over and reached into a large duffel bag to bring out a large plastic airplane. Jane had settled Anthony into her arms comfortably, but when the toddler saw the model plane, his eyes grew to the size of saucers.

John held the plane up to Anthony’s eye level, just within his reach. Anthony reached out shyly to touch it, with one eye warily watching the man with the funny hair on his face. Although Anthony seemed to feel perfectly comfortable with Jane, he also seemed to still have his doubts about such a tall, thin, new grandpa. Sensing that, John leaned down and said in a low voice, "Pilot to co-pilot, cleared to take off. Start your engines!" At that, he took one finger and spun the front propeller of the airplane, and Anthony laughed out loud.

As John repeated the motion, Anthony’s little body shook with delight in Jane’s arms. John’s hearty laugh echoed through the empty concourse. "How about that? He loves airplanes already!" He looked at Jax, and suddenly Jax felt a chill run down to his toes. "Why, I’m sure in no time he’ll be ready to fly planes just like you…"

To Jax’s relief, Jane took that moment to drop her purse. "How clumsy of me!" she exclaimed as the contents began to spill out. "John, would you mind picking it up for me? I don’t want to put this precious bundle down just yet."

John shook his head and smiled. "Just like a woman. Thinks she has to pack seven suitcases for a two-day trip, and then take an eighth one and carry it on her arm." Brenda smiled at the interchange, and Jax let out a long breath that he had been holding. Obviously he would need to have a talk with his father to let him know exactly how much Brenda knew about his past. {But how did Mum know? That HAD to be a diversion to stop Dad from letting the cat out of the bag. She never drops her purse.} Jax eyed his mother in silence, amazed at her intuition.

They finally all left the terminal, with Anthony still riding in Jane’s arms. "Why don’t you ride with us in Brenda’s van so we can get more time to visit? I’ll have someone from the office bring your rental car out to the house so you’ll have it for tomorrow," Jax suggested, and all agreed. When they got to the van, Brenda started to get in the back seat, but Jax again intervened. "You ride up in front with me, love. Let Mum and Dad ride with Anthony in the back."

"But, Jax," she interrupted, "the front seat is more comfortable, and I’m sure your dad wants to talk with you…."

"Brenda," he said slowly, "let’s do it this way." After a few miles, Brenda saw the wisdom of his reasoning and had to smile. The forced confinement of the new grandparents and Anthony had them all giggling by the time they reached the house.

When they got out of the van, Anthony stood on the pavement and bounced his bottom, bending his knees, pointing anxiously at the plane. John smiled at him indulgently and scooped him up into his arms, holding the plane and his grandson proudly. Anthony spun the propeller blade once, and then found a new activity as he began to pull on John’s beard to make sure it was attached. "Ouch, Tiger!" John exclaimed, but then at the boy’s serious expression, he tickled him and all was forgotten.

Jax gave John and Jane a tour of the house while Brenda got them all some snacks. After a long talk and Anthony had performed all of his latest tricks, Brenda excused herself to start dinner. Jane offered to help by watching Anthony, and Jax decided to take John for a quick tour of downtown Port Charles and the J&J Jacks offices.

Once they were in Jax’s car on the way downtown, John leaned back and looked at Jax seriously. "OK, son, time to spill your guts."

"About what, dad?" Jax said, trying to act innocent.

"Maybe about why your mother seemed to develop a case of dropsy every time I happened to mention your stint in the Air Force, or why she felt the need to poke me in the ribs every time I started to mention your accident."

Jax’s face turned as red as the stop light that had them momentarily motionless. "Dad, let me tell you a long story." As they drove, Jax told his father the entire tale, starting from the accident in Dhofar. By the time they got to the offices, Jax was finishing with the details of the wedding and his father’s face had turned ghostly pale.

"And she has no clue? She has no IDEA that you even KNEW her husband?" John Jacks shook his head sadly. "You’re playing with fire, son. I would expect something like this from Jerry, but from you…."

"I intend to tell her, dad. It’s just that the timing never seems right."

"Well, you’d better FIND the right time, or MAKE the right time, because she’s bound to find out sooner or later. You should know by now, son, that a lie always comes back to bite you on the butt sooner or later."

Jax looked at his father with eyes brimming with tears. "But I love her, dad. I don’t know what I would do if she finds out who I really am and she decides to leave me."

John patted his son’s hand on the steering wheel. "And I have a feeling that she loves you too, son, in her own way. And that grandson of mine loves you as much as if you were his natural father." He sighed. "Let’s just hope that love has a way of making things work out this time. Love…and a lot of prayers from your mother."

Jax shook his head. "How did she know? How does she always know these things?"

#####

"I knew it," Jane Jacks said triumphantly. She lay with her husband in the bed in the guest bedroom, and John had just finished relaying the tale that Jax had told him earlier in the day. "I knew there was something funny going on the minute Jax insisted on opening the office in Port Charles."

"Hush, Jane, they’ll hear you," John whispered. He shook his head. "I tried to tell the boy. He needs to level with her. There’s too much at stake in this for him to take a chance of losing it." He folded his hands behind his head on the pillow. "I just can’t help but thinking that he’s going to lose it all again – that he’s taking chances just like he used to before he had the accident." He looked into his wife’s eyes. "You know, he always WAS one to live on the edge."

She nodded wisely. "But I think that this time he realizes what’s at stake. I don’t think he’ll take a chance much longer." But deep in her heart, she decided to start praying that when Jax told Brenda who he really was, she would understand and still love him.

*~*~*~*

Jax could hear the birds chirping. He saw the sun shining. He could even hear the faint sounds of the trash truck that always made its way through the neighborhood on the first rounds of the morning. But all he could think about was the soft, warm woman who lay in his arms sleeping.

She had rolled over to his side of the bed about 2 hours earlier and snuggled into Jax’s side as though it were the place she occupied every night of the week. Her head rested on his chest, and her right hand lay close to his heart. He had wrapped his right arm around her and never wanted to let go. As he dared to take his left hand and gently trace the graceful line of her arm, he realized that she was awake and looking up at him.

"Good morning," she said softly. "I’m sorry if I disturbed you by hogging your side of the bed." He continued to stare at her wordlessly, and she wasn’t sure what to think. Then, all thoughts left her mind as she took her right hand and began to trace the scar that went up the left side of his chest.

"I told you it wasn’t pretty," he said in a low voice.

"It doesn’t matter to me," she said, staring into his eyes that became bluer and stormier with each passing moment. "If it helped you survive after the accident so that you could be with me here today, it was worth it." He inhaled sharply at her words, and when she continued to trace the scar and draw little patterns on his chest, he could feel his body responding.

She gasped when he grabbed her right wrist. "Brenda, I’ve been laying here, watching you sleep and wanting you for 2 hours now, and I don’t know how much more my body can take." He released her hand. "So unless you plan to make good on that raincheck, you should get out of bed right now and go start breakfast."

Her eyes were almost black with passion at his words. She spoke slowly and evenly. "Don’t you think it looks like rain today?" She moved her hand up to his face, and he kissed her palm. Without a word, he swept her into his arms and began to kiss her with all the hunger he had been holding back for weeks.

The sounds of the birds outside couldn’t compare with the soft moans and whimpers that were coming from the master bedroom. As Jax rolled Brenda to her back, his hand came up under her soft pink nylon gown in search of her breast. The gown rode high on her hips as his hand went up under it and began to tease her breasts. Her fingers wound into his hair, and then one of her hands slipped down to find the drawstring on his pajama bottoms and then pull at the loosened waistline.

As Jax’s lips left hers to trail down the side of her neck, his hand moved to the waistline of her panties and began to pull them lower. She buried her head in his neck and raised her body up off the bed to help him rid her of the intrusive barrier of clothing.

Just as they pulled back to look into each other’s eyes, they both jumped at the sound of little feet running down the hallway. Jax pulled the sheet up over the both of them just as Anthony crashed through the door of the master bedroom, smiling and waving his new airplane through the air. He was making a noise that probably was his imitation of an engine.

Jax buried his head in Brenda’s neck and whispered in her ear. "So, who do you think it was that freed him from crib jail -- Grandma or Grandpa?" Brenda just let out a shaky sigh and smiled wanly into Jax’s brilliant aquamarine eyes. They both watched Anthony indulgently as he came to the bed and showed them his airplane. "Good morning, Tiger," Jax crooned. "I’m gonna kill your grandparents – did you know that?"

Anthony just squealed in delight as the propeller spun around. He began spinning himself and running around the area next to the bed, and Jax still held Brenda in his loose embrace, enjoying the smell of her hair and the feel of her body next to his. As Anthony continued to spin, he became dizzy, and suddenly lost his toddler footing. He came to stand next to them at the bed, and sat down hard on his diapered bottom. He was rewarded with gentle laughter from both Jax and Brenda. Wanting more of their attention, he tried to stand back up, but was still dizzy. Needing something to support his efforts, he grabbed the first handy object, which was the drawer pull on the nightstand drawer. But when he grabbed it, instead of it supporting his weight, the drawer just pulled out to reveal Louie’s framed picture staring at them.

Anthony looked into the drawer. "Dadadadada…." he babbled, still thinking that his audience would be pleased. But Brenda’s world had just shattered. She felt Jax’s arms stiffen, and when she turned to look at him, his eyes had turned a steely gray and his face looked like a thundercloud.

To be continued….